Switzerland’s Nemo wins Eurovision as UK comes 18th

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Swiss singer Nemo has won the Eurovision Song Contest in Sweden, with their song The Code.

A compelling hybrid of opera and hip-hop, it topped the jury vote, helping the 24-year-old gain an impressive score of 591 points.

The singer becomes the first non-binary artist to win Eurovision. Fittingly, they wrote the song to explain how they came to terms with their identity.

Croatia, which led the public vote, came second with the raucous party anthem Rim Tim Tagi Dim, while the UK’s Olly Alexander was consigned to 18th place, out of 25.

The Years and Years singer received the dreaded “nul points” from the public, but was saved from last place by the jury vote. They awarded his song, Dizzy, 46 points.

This year’s contest was overshadowed by protests over Israel’s participation, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.

Israel’s entrant, the 20-year-old singer Eden Golan, who received a mixture of boos and cheers as she performed on stage in Malmö, came fifth.

In their victory speech on stage, Nemo said: “I hope this contest can live up to its promise and continue to stand for peace and dignity for every person in this world.”

They later broke the contest’s infamous crystal microphone trophy, which appeared to fall to the stage as they waved it around in triumph.

Nemo wowed audiences with their lithe and athletic performance, singing an operatic falsetto while balancing perilously on a spinning turntable.

Their song, The Code, was a deeply personal account of the struggle to accept their non-binary identity.

In the lyrics, they sang: “Somewhere between the zeroes and the ones / That’s where I found my kingdom come.”

The victory represents a big moment for the LGBTQ community which has, for a long time, treated Eurovision as a safe haven.

Last year’s winner Loreen, who handed the crystal trophy to Nemo on Saturday, recently told the BBC how important that support had been to her.

“Eurovision is a community that has an acceptance for diversity [and] different ways of being.

“It’s a very accepting and loving space. And it’s us who are creating it, through creativity.”

Bambie Thug, who is also non-binary, rushed over to Nemo after their victory and handed over a hand-crafted crown, which they wore for their final performance.