Switzerland has won Eurovision, topping the leaderboard in a competition fraught with last-minute changes and backstage incidents.
The first non-binary performer to take the trophy, Nemo used their childhood opera experience to pull together an impressive performance mixing rap, rock, drum ‘n bass and classical opera, as well as balancing on a revolving disc spinning at speed as they sang.
The song – which took an early lead in the race – shares a message of self-acceptance and the freedom for each one of us to live our lives openly and without fear of judgment.
When accepting their prize, Nemo said: “I hope this contest can live up to its promise, and continue to stand up for peace.” They then performed their song to wrap up the show.
Nemo is the first Swiss act to win the contest since Celine Dion took the prize in 1988.
Croatian act Baby Lasagne (whose real name is Marko Purisic) took second place with the anarchic rock track Rim Tim Tagi Dim.
The UK’s act, Dizzy, sung by Olly Alexander came 18th out of 25, with 46 points. He performed 13th in the running order – a number considered unlucky for some, and received a crushing “nul points” in the public vote.
The Years And Years star gave an energetic performance surrounded by his four dancers dressed in boxing shorts, writhing around a brightly lit cube decked out like a boxing ring.
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Analysis: Is Eurovision broken? And can it be fixed?
Fifty years ago Abba brought Waterloo to Eurovision and emerged triumphant. Today, very different battles were being fought within the competition, as it attempted – with limited success – to remain apolitical in the face of geo-politics too loud to ignore.
Critics of the war in Gaza wanted Israel to be pulled from the show, with thousands of pro-Palestine protesters taking to the streets for organised marches throughout competition week. Fans called on acts to boycott the event, with some screenings of the show cancelled in recognition of the contentious nature of the ongoing debate.
Calls of “art washing” rang out loud and clear, but as far as the show’s bosses – the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) – were concerned, it was a case of “the show must go on”.
A supplementary drama was thrown into the mix just eight hours before the show was due to start, when Dutch act Joost Klein was axed over allegations he made verbal threats to a female member of Eurovision staff. It was an unprecedented move.
Fans of his song – the painfully catchy happy hardcore number Europapa – were not impressed, venting their displeasure through boos directed at EBU boss Martin Osterdahl as he delivered the Netherlands’ scores during the show.
Following their history-making win, Switzerland’s Nemo admitted they’d broken the coveted Eurovision glass trophy within moments of being handed it. They also admitted to breaking EBU rules by bringing a non-binary flag into the venue, before calling out the “double standards” of the organisers who were reported to have forced some fans to throw away their non-binary flags before being allowed in.
Perhaps summing up the take home message of the night, the 26-year-old singer said: “I broke the code and I broke the trophy, maybe the trophy can be fixed – maybe Eurovision needs a little bit of fixing now and then too.”
With organisers clearly struggling to cope with performers who refuse to be gagged, this was certainly a difficult year for the competition. Can it weather the storm? Or will the hurricane instigated by brutal world conflict raze it to the ground?
Either way, the contest’s motto – “united by music” – must surely now be retired, as the Eurovision community steps away from the stage more divided than ever.
Ireland’s act Bambie Thug came sixth, with their self-named “Ouija pop” track Doomsday Blue.
Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden, opened the show, speaking in a short, pre-recorded video, and wishing all the contestants luck, before Sweden’s identical twins Marcus and Martinus performed the first song.
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UK receives ‘nul points’ at Eurovision
Performers made some tentative moves towards bringing politics to the stage, with Lithuania signing off their song with the command, “Spread love to the world”, while Portugal’s act said, “Peace will prevail”.
At the end of France’s performance by Slimane, he said: “United by music, for love and peace, thank you so much.”
During an earlier performance he had cut his act short, saying: “Every artist here wants to sing about love and sing about peace. We need to be united by music yes but with love for peace. United by music yes but with love for peace”.
Meanwhile, Ireland’s act Bambie Thug rounded off their performance by saying: “Love will always triumph hate.”
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The country’s participation in the Eurovision song contest in Malmo, Sweden left the event struggling to maintain its apolitical stance.
Boos and toy fruit
During a cutaway of their team, which was played after all the songs had been performed in a round-up of the acts sat in the ‘green room’ area onstage, there was a large soft-toy watermelon clearly in the background behind Bambie.
The fruit is widely used as a symbol of Palestinian solidarity.
Earlier this week, the 31-year-old, who is non-binary, said the EBU prevented them from displaying a pro-Palestinian message during their performance during the first semi-final.
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Israel receives mixed reaction at Eurovision
There was some audible booing when Israel’s Eden Golan performed, and more audible booing when Israel handed out their scores.
But the loudest booing of the night was reserved for the man in charge of the Eurovision Song Contest, Martin Osterdahl, who was almost drowned out by jeering from the crowd when he first spoke, and then again when he handed out the points for Netherlands.
This year’s Eurovision contest has been embroiled in controversy over the last few months, with demonstrations and calls for Israel to be banned due to their actions in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
On Thursday, between 10,000 and 12,000 people took part in a pro-Palestinian march through Malmo, the host city.
An unprecedented axing
But on Friday, drama unfolded closer to home when Dutch act Joost – who had been among the favourites to win – was axed over allegations he made verbal threats to a female Eurovision production worker after coming off stage following the second semi-final on Thursday.
It is the first time in Eurovision history that an act has been disqualified after reaching the grand final.
Then on Saturday, Irish contender Bambie Thug did not take part in the final rehearsal for the show, due to “a situation” they said needed “urgent attention” from organisers.
Several presenters scheduled to award the points of their country during the programme, withdrew from the show just hours before it was due to begin, including Finnish singer Kaarij (whose song Cha Cha Cha came second in last year’s show) and Norwegian singer Alessandra Mele.
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Eurovision act suffers wardrobe malfunction
Away from the political overtones the EBU was trying so hard to avoid, Swedish supergroup Abba – the most famous band ever to come out of the contest – were shown in hologram form and performed on stage in London.
The four “Abbatars” as they’ve been dubbed sang Waterloo, accompanied from the Malmo stage by fellow former winners Conchita Wurst, Charlotte Perrelli and Carola Haggkvist.
‘Maybe Eurovision needs a little bit of fixing’
Speaking to reporters after their win, Nemo admitted they had accidentally broken the glass microphone shortly after being presented with it on stage.
Nemo hit out at the EBU’s “double standards” when asked about fans reportedly not being allowed to bring non-binary flags into the auditorium, admitting: “I had to smuggle my flag in because Eurovision said no and I did it anyway. I hope some other people did that too… This is clearly like a double standard… I broke the code and I broke the trophy, maybe the trophy can be fixed – maybe Eurovision needs a little bit of fixing too”.
They said the experience of performing in Eurovision had been “intense, and not just pleasant all the way,” adding that the fact had not been “all about love and unity made them “really sad”.
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Loud boos for Eurovision boss
When pressed on how they felt about Dutch act Joost not being in the final, Nemo refused to be drawn, saying, “I don’t really know any specifics” so would “refrain from “saying that if I don’t have anything smart to say”.
However, on their fellow Eurovision finalists, Nemo said they had made “friends for life,” adding that they hope to collaborate with some of their fellow acts, and would “love to do a song with Bambie [Thug]”.
Representatives of dozens of climate vulnerable islands and African nations have stormed out of high-stakes negotiations over a climate funding goal.
Patience is wearing thin and negotiations have boiled over at the COP29 climate talks in Azerbaijan, which were due to finish yesterday but are now well into overtime.
After two weeks of talks, the more than 190 countries gathered in the capital Baku are still trying to agree a new financial settlement to channel money to poorer countries to both curb and adapt to climate change.
Talks have now run well into overtime at COP29, but a deal now feels much more precarious.
The least developed countries like Mozambique and low-lying island nations like Samoa say their calls for a portion of the fund to be allocated to them have been ignored.
Samoa’s minister of natural resources and environment Toeolesulusulu Cedric Schuster is one of the representatives who walked out.
“We are here to negotiate but we have walked out… at the moment we don’t feel we are being heard in there,” he said on behalf of more than 40 small island and developing states, whose shorelines are being lost to rising sea levels.
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Shortly after he made a veiled threat of leaving COP29 altogether, saying: “We want nothing more than to continue to engage, but the process must be INCLUSIVE.
“If this cannot be the case, it becomes very difficult for us to continue our involvement here at COP29.”
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Evans Njewa, who chairs a group of more than 40 least developed countries, said the current deal is “unacceptable for us. We need to speak to other developing countries and decide what to do.”
The last official draft on Friday pledged $250bn a year annually by 2035.
This is more than double the previous goal of $100bn set 15 years ago, but nowhere near the annual $1.3trn that experts say is needed.
Sky News understands some developed countries like the UK were this morning willing to bump up the goal to $300bn.
Developing countries are angry not just about the finance negotiations, but also on how to make progress on a pledge from last year to “transition away from fossil fuels”.
A group of oil and producing countries, spearheaded by Saudi Arabia, have tried to dilute that language, while the UK and island state are among those that have fought to keep it in.
Mr Schuster said all things being negotiated contain a “deplorable lack of substance”.
He added: “We need to see progress and follow up on the transition away from fossil fuels that we agreed last year. We have been asked to forget all about that at this COP, as though we are not in a critical decade and as though the 1.5C limit is not in peril.”
“We need to be shown the regard which our dire circumstances necessitate.”
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.
At least 11 people have been killed and 63 injured in an Israeli strike on central Beirut, Lebanese authorities have said.
Lebanon‘s health ministry said the death toll could rise as emergency workers dug through the rubble looking for survivors. DNA tests are being used to identify the victims, the ministry added.
State-run National News Agency (NNA) said the attack “completely destroyed” an eight-storey residential building in the Basta neighbourhood early on Saturday.
Footage broadcast by Lebanon’s Al Jadeed station also showed at least one destroyed building and several others badly damaged around it.
The Israeli military did not warn residents to evacuate before the attack – the fourth targeting the centre this week.
At least four bombs were dropped in the attack, security sources told Reuters news agency.
The blasts happened at about 4am (2am UK time).
A seperate drone strike in the southern port cuty of Tyre this morning killed one person and injured another, according to the NNA.
The blasts came after a day of bombardment of Beirut’s southern suburbs and Tyre. The Israeli military had issued evacuation notices prior to those strikes.
Israel has killed several Hezbollah leaders in air strikes on the capital’s southern suburbs.
Heavy fighting between Israel and Hezbollah is ongoing in southern Lebanon, as Israeli forces push deeper into the country since launching a major offensive in September.
US envoy Amos Hochstein was in the region this week to try to end more than 13 months of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, ignited last October by the war in Gaza.
Mr Hochstein indicated progress had been made after meetings in Beirut on Tuesday and Wednesday, before going to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and defence minister Israel Katz.
According to the Lebanese health ministry, Israel has killed more than 3,500 people in Lebanon and wounded more than 15,000.
It has displaced about 1.2 million people – a quarter of Lebanon’s population – while Israel says about 90 soldiers and nearly 50 civilians have been killed in northern Israel.
President Vladimir Putin has said Russia will ramp up the production of a new, hypersonic ballistic missile.
In a nationally-televised speech, Mr Putin said the intermediate-range Oreshnik missile was used in an attack on Ukrainian city Dnipro in retaliation for Ukraine’s use of US and British missiles capable of striking deeper into Russian territory.
Referring to the Oreshnik, the Russian president said: “No one in the world has such weapons.
“Sooner or later other leading countries will also get them. We are aware that they are under development.”
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He added: “We have this system now. And this is important.”
Detailing the missile’s alleged capabilities, Mr Putin claimed it is so powerful that using several fitted with conventional warheads in one attack could be as devastating as a strike with nuclear weapons.
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General Sergei Karakayev, head of Russia’s strategic missile forces, said the Oreshnik could reach targets across Europe and be fitted with either nuclear or conventional warheads – while Mr Putin alleged Western air defence systems will not be able to stop the missiles.
Mr Putin said of the Oreshnik: “There is no countermeasure to such a missile, no means of intercepting it, in the world today. And I will emphasise once again that we will continue testing this newest system. It is necessary to establish serial production.”
Testing the Oreshnik will happen “in combat, depending on the situation and the character of security threats created for Russia“, the president added, stating there is “a stockpile of such systems ready for use”.
NATO and Ukraine are expected to hold emergency talks on Tuesday.
Meanwhile Ukraine’s parliament cancelled a session as security was tightened following the strike on Dnipro, a central city with a population of around one million. No fatalities were reported.
EU leaders condemn Russia’s ‘heinous attacks’
Numerous EU leaders have addressed Russia’s escalation of the conflict with Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk saying the war is “entering a decisive phase [and] taking on very dramatic dimensions”.
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Russia’s new missile – what does it mean?
Speaking in Kyiv, Czech foreign minister Jan Lipavsky called Moscow’s strike an “escalatory step and an attempt of the Russian dictator to scare the population of Ukraine and to scare the population of Europe”.
At a news conference, Mr Lipavsky gave his full support for delivering the additional air defence systems needed to protect Ukrainian civilians from the “heinous attacks”.