The European Super Cup brings forth shocking events in its past.

Unknown ESC intoxicates with outrageous occurrences.

Eventually, it's Switzerland's turn to win the Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö, Sweden, with Nemo's song "The Code." Germany escapes last place this year, taking 12th place. Although this year's contest in Sweden was dominated by political controversy, protests, and fears of terrorism, all is well in Malmö. The authorities managed to maintain order with a massive deployment of police, security personnel, and maybe even secret service forces.

From a news perspective, one could stop there - Switzerland wins, Germany doesn't end up last, all in all, everything is peaceful. However, the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) of 2024 wasn't just overshadowed by the protests on the streets of Malmö outside the Malmö Arena and the ESC bubble. It was primarily affected by the toxic - or let's call a spade a spade: anti-Semitic - atmosphere that went beyond the artists, delegations, and the audience.

For instance, ESC contestants like Bambie Thug from Ireland or Joost Klein from the Netherlands believed it was a good idea to discuss major world politics with a 20-year-old like Israeli representative Eden Golan. Bambie Thug, for example, cried because Golan qualified for the final. Klein openly displayed his hostile attitude by hiding under a Dutch flag at a press conference while Golan spoke and made childish remarks. When a journalist asked Golan if she was endangering other people in Malmö with her presence, and the presenter explained that she didn't have to answer that, Klein said, "Why not?"

At this point, Golan had already received death threats. She could barely leave her hotel room and needed heavy police protection when she did. The potential terrorist threat in Malmö didn't come from Jews but from violent Islamists. One would have wanted to confront Klein when he asked, "Why not?": because its sheer anti-Semitism and a perpetrator-victim reversal to blame the Israeli woman for the fear in Malmö.

But it didn't end there. Belgian TV staff displayed a message critical of Israel during the second semi-final. The score announcers for various countries, including the 2023 ESC participants from Finland and Norway, Käärijä and Alessandra Mele, backed out just before the final, claiming Israel's presence as the reason. Despite all the justified criticism that could be directed at Israel's actions in the fight against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, there were no similar extreme reactions in previous years when the ESC was held in authoritarian Azerbaijan or when the Belarus or Russian dictatorships participated willingly in the celebrations after annexing Crimea.

This set the stage for what transpired at the Malmö Arena on Saturday night. In addition, Joost Klein was excluded, not for his behavior towards Eden Golan, but for allegedly threatening an ESC employee. The police even launched an investigation against him. The EBU had no choice but to disqualify a participant in the current competition for the first time in ESC history.

Considering his behavior in Malmö, the lyrics of Klein's actual ESC entry "Europapa," which could be interpreted as a song of praise for love, peace, and harmony in accordance with the ESC statutes, seem quite bizarre: "Europe, let's come together. Now or never! I love you all!" But his fans, who had embraced him with his song, were not impressed. Winning over the hearts of the Dutch were not swayed by his behavior.

In sum, the combination of these events made the Song Contest 2024 become the most scandalous ESC ever. The contest has lost its innocence, which is not necessarily a bad thing. Looking at Spain, Finland, and Slovenia's entries with scantily clad men and women wasn't the only way to see this. In Malmö, the ESC received a black mark on its record that cannot be easily removed - it's supposed to be a haven of tolerance, diversity, and charity.

When performing at the Malmö Arena, Golan encountered both boos and cheers. Images of her on the screens later on were accompanied by boos, regardless of the national jury's scores. The booing persisted, even after the juries announced their results.

The European Broadcasting Union's (EBU) head, Martin Österdahl, also faced the brunt of this anger. Not only did he deliver the infamous line "You are good to go" upon revealing the voting results, but he also read out the Dutch jury's points since they had refused to announce them. Österdahl was met with boos and chants of "Europapa".

The Israeli entry, "Hurricane" by Golan, was among the stronger ones this year. However, the EBU forced Golan to change the song's title from "October Rain" due to its similarity to the Hamas massacre of October 7, 2023, in which approximately 1200 people lost their lives in Israel. The juries awarded her a total of 52 points, placing her at 12th position. On the other hand, the TV audience granted Golan 323 points, making her the second most-preferred performer if they had the final say. This decision likely resulted in diminishing the ESC scandal from Malmö.

The audience once again proved their intuition and empathy, naming Baby Lasagna from Croatia as their favorite. This poetic singer received a monumental 337 audience points for "Rim Tim Dagi Tim." Having been admired by many in the weeks before, Baby Lasagna's victory seemed likely. This was supported by the fact that the local event hall in Zagreb was blocked for six weeks in preparation. However, the juries only scored Baby Lasagna third with 210 points. As a result, the singer placed second.

This year's victory went to Nemo, the non-binary act from Switzerland, who sang "The Code." Despite being a favorite in Malmö, Nemo had lagged behind Baby Lasagna in the predictions. Nevertheless, the jury's appreciation pushed Switzerland to the top, earning them 365 points. The television audience gave "The Code" 226 points and fifth place. Although the TV audience's points were lower than the juries', they were enough for the Swiss to win.

It's ironic that the 2024 ESC Scandal winner emerged from neutral Switzerland. Nemo's captivating performance on a turntable and distinctive song earned him high scores from the juries, who awarded 365 points. While the audience appreciated "The Code," giving it 226 points and fifth place, it was still enough for Switzerland's victory.

Ironically, the winner's trophy presented to Nemo was broken moments later.

Nemo's song, "I broke the code," reflects the real story - Isaak was the one who broke the code in Malmö. In an interview with ntv.de, Isaak expressed his confidence in his ability to place despite the odds. Despite years of disappointment, he ultimately rose to 12th place, putting Germany in the top half of the table.

Isaak seemed content after the final, appearing both relaxed and exhausted from his performance. And rightly so - he was one of the top singers this year and sang "Always on the Run" flawlessly without missing a single note. Unfortunately, the juries had a significant impact on his decent placement. With 99 points, they placed him in 10th position. However, the audience would have given him only 18 points and placed him in 19th position. As the saying goes, the ESC has its own rules, and in this case, those rules resulted in a 12th-place celebration with Isaak.

The ESC 2024 taught us a couple of valuable lessons. The first is that Germany can maintain this direction moving forward. The second is that the ESC can't go on like this. We must avoid a scenario like the one in Malmö to prevent Eurovision from falling apart. It's up to the EBU to handle this situation. It must be quite a challenge to be in their shoes at the moment.

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In the lead-up to the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest, ARD broadcasted the event live on German TV, creating a platform for viewers to witness the controversies and events unfold in real-time.

During the contest, several artists and delegations, including Joost Klein from the Netherlands and Belgian TV staff, faced backlash due to their statements or actions related to politics and Israel's participation, highlighting the heightened sensitivity and tension surrounding the contest that year.

Source: www.ntv.de