The 68th Eurovision Song Contest is taking place in Malmo, Sweden, this year.
It’s a spiritual homecoming of sorts with Sweden’s supergroup Abba – who are the most famous band ever to come out of the contest – crowned the winners 50 years ago.
Loved and loathed in equal measure for its euro pop earworms, evocative power ballads, and eye-watering novelty acts, there’s no clear frontrunner for this year’s show – meaning it’s all to play for.
The political elephant in the room is of course Israel’s participation in light of the ongoing Gaza war, with many artists encouraged to boycott the event due to their participation.
As it stands, no act has withdrawn from the contest.
So, with 37 countries heading into the semi-finals ahead of a grand final featuring 26 songs on Saturday, who might we see take first place on the night?
The top three
Croatia is currently the country to beat, with Baby Lasagne (real name Marko Purisic) singing Rim Tim Tagi Dim.
The 28-year-old bleach-blonde frontman says the title doesn’t translate as anything, other than a catchy repeated riff, but a serious theme lies beneath the full-on performance.
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Image: Croatia’s Baby Lasagna with Rim Tim Tagi Dim. Pic: Sarah Louise Bennett/EBU
The song describes the tension of young Croatians leaving their homeland to seek better opportunities abroad, through the character of a farm boy who leaves his home – and his cat – to become a “city boy”.
Another hot favourite is Switzerland, with Nemo singing The Code.
The 24-year-old non-binary performer draws on their childhood opera singing to pull together an impressive song which scales rap, rock, drum ‘n bass and classical opera.
The message in this one is self-acceptance and the freedom for each one of us to live our lives openly and without fear of judgement.
Image: Switzerland’s Nemo with The Code. Pic: Alma Bengtsson/EBU
Meanwhile, a song that’s been growing in popularity is Ukraine’s Teresa & Maria sung by Alonya Alonya and Jerry Heil.
Alonya, 28, is a well-known rapper in Ukraine, while Heil, 32, found fame on YouTube and appeared on the country’s version of X-Factor.
Utterly hummable, the folk-inflected anti-war song paying tribute to Mother Theresa and the mother of Christ has a strong heritage and shares a songwriter with Kalush Orchestra’s winning 2022 entry Stefania.
Image: Ukraine’s Alyona Alyona & Jerry Heil with Teresa & Maria. Pic: Alma Bengtsson/EBU
In with a chance
Also in the running is Italy with Angelina Mango’s La Noia, which translates as “Boredom”.
The 23-year-old told Italian rock magazine Rockol that while boredom is often seen as a negative thing, she sees it as a time for self-discovery, adding: “Between a life of highs and lows and one of boredom, I will always choose one of highs and lows, but I will always leave myself time for boredom too.”
Image: Italy’s Angelina Mango with La Noia. Pic: Alma Bengtsson/EBU
Meanwhile, Netherlands act Joost has by far the biggest earworm of the crop with Europapa – a song that will delight and infuriate in equal measure. Indeed, one early review of the song proclaimed it was so bad, it had the power to “put you off music forever”.
Despite the silliness of the happy hardcore-infused pop song and the OTT nature of his shoulder-pad-enhanced performance, 26-year-old singer Joost Klein had a heartbreaking inspiration for the song – the loss of both his parents by age 13.
Image: Netherlands act Joost with Europapa. Pic: Sarah Louise Bennett/EBU
The track is about an orphan who travels around Europe trying to find himself, as his father taught him to believe in a Europe without borders, celebrating the national food of each nation en route.
Host country Sweden is also seen as having a chance for back-to-back wins, represented by Norwegian twin brothers Marcus and Martinus Gunnarsen performing their presumptuously titled song Unforgettable.
Image: Sweden’s Marcus & Martinus with Unforgettable. Pic: Alma Bengtsson/EBU
But Eurovision voters – made up equally of public votes and a jury of music experts – will of course be the judge of that.
Other notable mentions include France’s Silmane giving a heartfelt rendition of Mon Amour and Ireland’s Bambie Thug singing Doomsday Blue – a song she’s described as “an electro-metal breakdown”.
Image: France’s Slimane with Mon Amour. Pic: Corinne Cumming/EBU
Image: Ireland’s Bambie Thug with Doomsday Blue. Pic: Sarah Louise Bennett/EBU
What about the UK?
As one of the “Big Five” (the countries that contribute the most to the EBU along with France, Germany, Spain and Italy) the UK is guaranteed a place in the final. Plus, as the host nation, Sweden gets an automatic pass too.
This year the UK are represented by ex-Years And Years star Olly Alexander singing the dance-pop track Dizzy.
Performed in a glass box full of boxers, quirky choreography and a catchy refrain have placed it in the top 10, but we’re unlikely to be contenders for the top spot.
Indeed bookmakers reckon the UK are more likely to come last than nail the top spot.
Image: UK’s Olly Alexander with Dizzy. Pic: Corinne Cumming/EBU
Controversy this year
There have been calls on the European Broadcasting Union EBU to ban Israel from competing in the show, due to their ongoing ground offensive in Gaza.
An apolitical organisation, the EBU has said Israel will remain in the competition.
In comparison to Russia’s removal from the show back in 2022 due to its invasion of Russia, the EBU say Israel’s broadcaster Kan hasn’t broken any rules. They say Moscow was banned for using their broadcasting channels as a tool for political propaganda multiple times.
Image: Israel’s Eden Golan with Hurricane for Israel. Pic: Sarah Louise Bennett/EBU
Normally strong Eurovision contenders, four-time winners Israel is represented by 20-year-old Eden Golan, and ranks in the top 10. But how the public will vote for them in the second semi-final heat on Thursday remains to be seen.
Golan’s song Hurricane was Israel’s third proposed entry after contest bosses rejected their first two songs over lyrics deemed political.
More than 34,000 people have been killed, and over 78,000 have been injured in Gaza since the conflict began, according to Gaza’s Hamas-led health ministry.
Israel retaliated after Hamas fighters killed more than 1,000 Israelis and took hundreds of hostages in attacks on 7 October last year.
Any other songs that have stirred up a fuss?
Spain’s entry, Zorra, by husband and wife act Nebulossa, has drawn controversy because its title can be translated as an anti-female slur.
While it’s been officially translated as “Vixen,” it’s a term used in Spain which would translate in the UK as “Bitch” or “Slut”.
Image: Spain’s Nebulossa with Zorra. Pic: Alma Bengtsson/EBU
Lyrics include: “If I head out solo, I’m a bit of a bitch/ If I’m having fun, I’m the biggest bitch/…When I get what I want (bitch, bitch) /It’s never ’cause I deserve it (bitch, bitch) … Well, she’s been empowering herself, And now she’s a picture-perfect bitch.”
The Feminist Movement of Madrid has called for it to be withdrawn from Eurovision, saying it insults women and is not suitable for a family audience.
Singer Maria Bas has argued her lyrics describe how a woman is referred to as a “zorra” no matter what she does, and that the song highlights society’s double standards, reclaiming a word that is weaponised against women only.
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Spain’s prime minister added his twopenneth this week, saying he liked the song and joking about how right-wing critics might have preferred the national anthem used during the Franco dictatorship as Spain’s Eurovision submission.
The hard-right Vox party hit back by saying Pedro Sanchez would prefer to listen to the communist anthem The Internationale.
The Eurovision semi-finals are on Tuesday and Thursday evening, ahead of the grand final on Saturday night.
Sky News will be in Malmo with updates, a live blog, and all the biggest news from the contest as it happens.
Brazilian police say they foiled a bomb attack planned for a Lady Gaga concert on Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana beach that attracted an estimated 2.1 million people.
The plot was orchestrated by a group promoting hate speech and the radicalisation of teenagers, including self-harm and violent content as a form of social belonging, according to the Civil Police of Rio de Janeiro, which worked in coordination with the country’s justice ministry.
“The suspects were recruiting participants, including minors, to carry out coordinated attacks using improvised explosives and Molotov cocktails,” the force said.
The justice ministry said the recruiters identified themselves as Gaga’s fans, known as “Little Monsters”.
It said Operation Fake Monster was based on a report by the ministry’s cyber operations lab following a tip-off from Rio state police intelligence, which uncovered digital cells encouraging violent behaviour among teenagers using coded language and extremist symbolism.
Authorities carried out over a dozen search and seizure warrants, and a man described as the group’s leader was arrested in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul for illegal possession of a firearm, and a teenager was detained in Rio de Janeiro for storing child abuse images.
Image: Lady Gaga performing at the huge open-air concert. Pic: Reuters
Gaga’s biggest ever show
Some 500,000 tourists travelled to watch the concert, which was paid for by the city in an attempt to boost the struggling economy.
Saturday night’s two-hour show, which marked Gaga’s biggest ever, marked the first time she had played in Brazil since 2012, having cancelled an appearance at the Rock in Rio festival in 2017 over health issues.
Gaga, who released her seventh studio album, Mayhem, in March, opened with a dramatic, operatic edition of her 2011 track Bloody Mary, before launching into Abracadabra, a recent track.
Image: Pic: AP
Image: Pic: AP
“Brazil! I missed you. I missed you so much,” she exclaimed, before launching into Poker Face, one of her biggest hits.
The American pop star drew in a similar crowd to Madonna’s in May last year, who performed at the same beach, which is transformed into an enormous dance floor for the shows.
Addressing the crowd in English and through a Portuguese translator, Gaga became emotional as she said: “I’m so honoured to be here with you tonight.
Image: Gaga addresses the crowd. Pic: Reuters
Image: Gaga seen performing on giant screens set up across the beach. Pic: Reuters
“Tonight we’re making history, but no one makes history alone. Without all of you, the incredible people of Brazil, I wouldn’t have this moment. Thank you for making history with me.
“The people of Brazil are the reason I get to shine today. But of all the things I can thank you for, the one I most am grateful for is this: that you waited for me. You waited more than 10 years for me.”
She said it took so long to come back because she was “healing” and “getting stronger”. The pop sensation cancelled many of her shows in 2017 and 2018 due to her fibromyalgia condition, which can cause pain and fatigue.
It is estimated Gaga’s show will have injected around 600 million reais (£79.9m) into the economy, nearly 30% more than Madonna’s show.
The large-scale free shows are set to continue annually until at least 2028, always taking place in May, which is considered the economy’s “low season”, according to the city’s government.
A hefty security plan was in place, including the presence of 3,300 military and 1,500 police officers, along with 400 military firefighters.
‘A dream come true’
Image: Pic: AP
The city has been swarmed with Gaga fans since her arrival on Tuesday, with some even keeping vigil outside of the hotel she has been staying at.
Many arrived at the beach at the crack of dawn on Saturday to secure good spots on the beach, despite the show not starting until 9.45pm.
Image: An aerial view shows fans gathering on Copacabana beach ahead of Lady Gaga’s arrival. Pic: Reuters
Ana Lara Folador, who attended with her sister, said it was “a dream come true”, and that Gaga had “really shaped a part of my personality, as a person and an artist”.
Ingrid Serrano, a 30-year-old engineer who made a cross-continent trip from Colombia to Brazil to attend the show, turned up in a T-shirt featuring Lady Gaga’s outlandish costumes over the years.
“I’ve been a 100% fan of Lady Gaga my whole life,” she said, adding the 39-year-old megastar represented “total freedom of expression – being who one wants without shame”.
Image: A fan dons an unusual face mask. Pic: AP
Image: A fan strikes a pose. Pic: AP
Matheus Silvestroni, 25, an aspiring DJ and a Gaga fan since the age of 12, endured an eight-hour bus ride from Sao Paulo for the show.
He said it was Gaga who had inspired him to embrace his sexuality and pursue his dream of becoming an artist.
“I was bullied because I was a fat, gay kid, so I was an easy target,” he said. “Gaga was very important because she sent a message that everything was okay with me, I wasn’t a freak, because I was ‘Born This Way’.”
Rio is known for holding massive open-air concerts, with Rod Stewart holding a Guinness World Record for the four million-strong crowd he drew to Copacabana beach in 1994.
John Lithgow is a man well aware of cancel culture and its ability to destroy careers in the blink of an eye.
The Oscar-nominated actor tells Sky News: “It is terrible to be so careful about what you say. Even in an interview like this. It goes into the world, and you can get misconstrued and misrepresented and cancelled in [the click of a finger].”
Image: Roald Dahl is the subject of West End play Giant, by Mark Rosenblatt. Pic: Johan Persson
It’s a theme that runs parallel with his latest work – the stage show Giant – which through the lens of one explosive day in children’s author Roald Dahl‘s life, poses the question, should we look for moral purity in our artists?
The writer of great works including The Witches, Matilda and The BFG, Dahl revolutionised children’s literature with his irreverent approach, inspiring generations of readers and selling hundreds of millions worldwide. But his legacy is conflicted.
Lithgow describes Dahl as “a man with great charm, great wit and literary talent. A man who really cared about children and loved them. But a man who carried a lot of demons.”
Specifically, the play – which explores Palestinian rights versus antisemitism – deals with the fallout from controversial comments the children’s author made over the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982. Its themes couldn’t be more timely.
Lithgow explains: “Things are said in the play that nobody dares to say out loud… But God knows this is a complicated and contradictory issue.”
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Image: John Lithgow plays Dahl – a man capable of ‘great compassion’ and ‘enormous cruelty’. Pic: Johan Persson
‘It didn’t start as an idea about Roald Dahl at all’
So controversial are some of the play’s themes, the 79-year-old star admits his own son warned him: “Prepare yourself. There’ll be demonstrations in Sloane Square outside the Royal Court Theatre.”
Indeed, the play’s first run carried an audience warning flagging “antisemitic language; graphic descriptions of violence; emotional discussion of themes including conflict in the Middle East, Israel and Palestine; and strong language”.
But it didn’t put audiences off. Following a sold-out run at the Royal Court, the role won Lithgow an Olivier. Now, it’s transferring to London’s West End.
The play was written by Mark Rosenblatt, a seasoned theatre director but debut playwright.
He tells Sky News: “It didn’t start as an idea about Roald Dahl at all. It was about the blurring of meaningful political discourse with racism, specifically when, in 2018, the inquiry into antisemitism in the Labour Party started to come out.”
Rosenblatt describes Dahl’s Revolting Rhymes and Dirty Beasts as the “wallpaper” of his childhood, and says he had no desire to “smash the Roald Dahl pinata”.
But despite the fond recollections, he was conflicted: “Understanding that [Dahl] also, possibly, didn’t like someone like me because I’m Jewish felt complicated.” It was Rosenblatt’s exploration of “how you hold those two things at the same time” that led to Dahl becoming the play’s focus.
Image: Elliot Levey plays Dahl’s Jewish publisher, and Aya Cash plays an American Jewish sales executive. Pic: Johan Persson
‘He’s not cancelled in our home’
Rosenblatt describes him as “a complex man, capable of great compassion, great passionate defence of oppressed people, and also capable of enormous cruelty and manipulation. He was many things at once”.
And as for Dahl’s place in his life now? Rosenblatt says: “I still read his books to my kids. He’s certainly not cancelled in our home.”
It’s likely that Dahl’s comments, if uttered today, would lead to swift social media condemnation, but writing in a pre-social media age, the judgment over his words came at a much slower pace.
Dahl died in 1990, and his family later apologised for antisemitic remarks he made during his lifetime. But the debate of whether art can be separated from the artist is still very much alive today.
Earlier this month, Lithgow found himself drawn into a different row over artists and their opinions – this time concerning author JK Rowling.
Image: JK Rowling in 2019. Pic:AP
‘A matter of nuance’
Soon to play Dumbledore in the Harry Potter TV series, he has been criticised by some fans for working with the author known for her gender critical beliefs.
Lithgow told Sky News: “It’s a question I’m getting asked constantly. I suppose I should get used to that, but JK Rowling has created an amazing canon of books for kids…
“I have my own feelings on this subject. But I’m certainly not going to hesitate to speak about it. Just because I may disagree… It’s a matter of nuance… I think she’s handled it fairly gracefully.”
The actor ignored calls not to take the role.
He goes on: “Honestly, I’d rather be involved in this than not. And if I’m going to speak on this subject, I’m speaking from inside this project and very much a partner with JK Rowling on it.”
Demanding an eight-year commitment and a move to the UK for the part, the stakes are high.
And with a legion of Harry Potter fans watching on from the wings, only time will tell if the Lithgow-Rowling partnership will prove a magical one.
Giant is playing at the Harold Pinter Theatre in London until Saturday, 2 August.
Lorraine Kelly has revealed she is undergoing surgery to remove her ovaries and fallopian tubes.
The 65-year-old TV presenter posted a video of her in a hospital bed on Instagram, and said “I’ve not been feeling all that well for a little while”.
Kellyadded she “had a little scan and I have to have my ovaries and my tubes taken out” with keyhole surgery.
She said that the procedure is “purely preventative,” and that “I’m going to be totally fine, see you soon”.
According to the NHS, keyhole surgery – also called laparoscopic surgery – is carried out using several small incisions.
The procedure can take between one and two hours, and doctors recommend staying off work for two to four weeks after the surgery.
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In the caption, the ITV presenter wrote she felt “very lucky to be treated so well” and thanked gynaecologist Dr Ahmed Raafat and hospital staff.
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Good Morning Britain presenter Susanna Reid said she was “sending you all the love in the world”, while TV presenter Julia Bradbury added: “Wishing you a speedy recovery Lorraine, and good luck with the post op rehab.”