About two months before the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 (ESC) in Malmö, Sweden, the candidates from all countries have been chosen. On Saturday, hosts Sweden and Portugal selected their entries. Iceland had chosen Hera Björk as the winner in its preliminary round at the beginning of March, but the Icelandic broadcaster RUV had separated the choice of contribution from the participation confirmation. It initially remained unclear whether Iceland would take part in the semi-finals on May 7th.
Host Sweden sends the twins Marcus and Martinus into the race with their song “Unforgettable”. For the two native Norwegians, the Swedish preliminary round “Melodifestivalen” was not unfamiliar territory. Last year they came in second place behind singer Loreen, who later won the ESC in Liverpool with her song “Tattoo”.
With their pop song, the duo – as Sweden often does – is considered one of the favorites to win. As host, the country automatically has a place in the grand ESC final on May 11th.
Croatia is seen as being at the forefront this year. International betting offices rate the chances of the artist Baby Lasagna very high. His dynamic song “Rim Tim Tagi Dim” is characterized by energy, entertainment and catchiness. However, the country must first qualify for the final at the semi-finals on May 7th.
Isaak is Germany’s ESC hope
Will Germany finally be able to escape its ESC curse? This year, musician Isaak (28) from East Westphalia is trying it with his pop song “Always On The Run”. The hope rests on the singer with the grating voice that he will not come last, as in the past two years, but rather take a good place.
Germany is part of the “Big Five” – the ESC’s largest donors – and therefore has a permanent place in the final on May 11th. The “Big Five” also includes Great Britain, Spain, France and Italy.
The artist from the Netherlands is probably well known to some people, especially in Germany. Rapper Joost Klein is competing this year with “Europapa”. The 26-year-old stormed the charts in Germany last year when, together with Berlin rapper Ski Aggu, he transformed Otto Waalke’s well-known song “Friesenjung” into a techno version. The musician will be competing at this year’s Grand Prix with his danceable “Hymn to Europe”.
Controversy over Israel’s contribution
This year, too, a shadow hangs over the self-proclaimed “non-political” music event. Since the Islamist Hamas attack on Israel at the beginning of October, a second ESC participating country, after Ukraine, is now at war. Israel’s participation in the ESC caused criticism and boycott threats in some countries. Some artists had called for Israel to be excluded from the ESC because of the Gaza war.
Israel’s contribution was heavily criticized – those responsible recently announced that they would be editing the text. The lyrics originally said, among other things: “Writer of history, stand by me” and “there is no more air to breathe. There is no room”. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) found the content too political. The Israeli broadcaster Kan initially announced that it did not want to edit the text, but then reversed its decision. Otherwise this would have cost Israel participation in the ESC. According to Kan, the new version is about a young woman who has gone through a personal crisis.
The 68th Eurovision Song Contest will be held in Malmö this year. The Scandinavian country is hosting the international music competition for the seventh time; only Ireland has ever done so. The event in May also celebrates an unforgettable ESC moment: Exactly 50 years ago, the Swedish pop group Abba won the Grand Prix in Brighton, England, with their hit “Waterloo”.
