Switzerland, of all places, has won what is probably the most political Eurovision Song Contest of all time. Accompanied by numerous protests on the streets in Malmö, Sweden, the 68th Eurovision Song Contest went off more or less smoothly on Saturday evening (May 11th). Germany can also be happy: singer Isaak (28) took twelfth place with his song “Always On The Run”.
The final was opened by the Swedish Crown Princess Victoria (46). In a short video message, King Carl XVI’s daughter said: Gustaf (78) welcomed the spectators and wished the participants good luck. This was followed by a performance by Swedish singer Björn Skifs (77) and the 25 participating acts entered the arena in starting order to hits from ABBA, Icona Pop and Roxette.
The Norwegian twin brothers Marcus opened with their song “Unforgettable”.
Then a quick stage conversion for the fiery performance of the German contribution: Isaak thrilled with his song “Always On The Run”, the audience rewarded with a surprising amount of cheers and applause. “No, Isaak didn’t have any lyrics. The word ‘shit’ is taboo at the ESC, so it was left out,” clarified commentator Thorsten Schorn (48), who is leading the song contest for the first time this year.
After Luxembourg with Tali and her song “Fighter”, the Netherlands would actually have started in fifth place, but singer Joost Klein (26) was disqualified a few hours before the final. Instead, the performance continued, which had caused the biggest discussion beforehand: Singer Eden Golan (20) confidently carried out her performance of “Hurricane” despite boos and whistles.
Lithuania followed with the very danceable song “Luktelk” by Silvester Belt, who concluded his performance with the appeal “Spread Love To The World”. Nebulossa from Spain then thrilled everyone with their party hit “Zorra” and some burlesque acts and half-naked somersaults. This is followed by Estonia’s 5Miinust
After Latvia, Greece, Great Britain, Norway, Italy and Serbia, Finland followed with one of the most bizarre performances of the evening from Windows95man with “No Rules”. Afterwards Portugal, Armenia and Cyprus and finally with the Swiss act Nemo and “The Code” the performance of one of the favorites of the evening. After Slovenia’s performance, favorite Baby Lasagna from Croatia followed with “Rim Tim Dagi Dim”. Georgia, France and Austria decided on the live performances of the participants.
It is also celebrated that ABBA’s Grand Prix victory with “Waterloo” is fittingly 50 years old. And it will be performed this evening by former ESC winners from previous years: Conchita Wurst (35) from Austria and the Swedes Charlotte Perrelli (49) and Carola (57).
When the international juries from the 37 participating countries awarded points, a clear favorite quickly emerged: Nemo from Switzerland received one “deux points” after the other and was able to look forward to an incredible 365 points in the end. Also popular with the juries: Croatia, France and Italy.
After Germany has finished last or second to last at the ESC since 2019, it is a small sensation: Isaak received 99 jury points for his performance of “Always On The Run” – and therefore more points than in the last four years combined. Estonia has to settle for four points and last place.
When it comes to public voting, it quickly becomes clear: Norway took last place this year with 16 points, while Austria ended up in second to last place. The voting brings a big twist for Israel: After only 52 points from the jury voting, Eden Golan receives 325 points from the audience and briefly moves into first place. In the end, Croatia and Switzerland have to fight for first place. With a total of 591 points, victory ultimately goes to Nemo with “The Code” – the first ESC victory for Switzerland since Céline Dion (56) in 1988. Germany’s Isaak has a total of 117 points after the voting and thus ends up in twelfth place .
