The Swiss winner of Eurovision 2024, Nemo, in a ridiculous criticism towards the EBU. Nemo tries to portray themselves as a victim. Should the EBU make changes and what, in our opinion, is the first change that should be made?
Five months after winning Eurovision 2024, Switzerland’s representative, Nemo, interviewed with the BBC News department, sharing their feelings about the lack of support contestants experienced from the organizers during the competition. “I felt very alone,” the singer told the BBC, adding hope that the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) will make changes next year. “I really hope they have things in place for the next year to make sure that part of the whole contest, especially mentally, gets taken care of. Because I did feel alone and I know that some other artists were also feeling that way.”
Nemo continues their criticism against the EBU, describing the backstage atmosphere as “quite tense,” and adds: “There were situations that are still being investigated by the EBU. They told us they would get back to us and they haven’t yet. It’s a shame that the EBU takes so long in my honest opinion.” It’s unclear which specific situations are being referred to, but it’s likely related to the “shouting incident” involving Irish singer Bambie Thug, who reportedly yelled at members of the Israeli delegation for being filmed backstage against her will.
Criticism Deemed Ridiculous by Some
Nemo’s criticism of the EBU is highly ridiculous. The Eurovision Song Contest is an apolitical competition, with the production striving each year to keep tensions and conflicts between different countries and political factors out of the contest. Despite this, various contestants like representatives from Ireland, Portugal, and others, including Nemo, continued to express their political opinions. Some repeatedly called for boycotting Israel, expressed solidarity with Palestinians, and opposed Israel’s participation in the competition. Nemo, along with other Eurovision representatives, frequently engaged with the Israeli-Palestinian issue, calling for an “immediate and sustained ceasefire” on various occasions, wore the red pin of the Artists4Ceasefire organization during a Eurovision party in Madrid, and signed a public statement addressing the conflict between Israel and Hamas and calling for a ceasefire.
It’s absurd that someone who was politically active in direct contradiction to the essence of the competition complains about feeling lonely during the contest days and not receiving support from the production. It’s ridiculous that after winning, Nemo tries to portray themselves as a victim who suffered during their stay in Malmö, while thousands of Israelis couldn’t walk the city streets and Israel’s representative faced loud booing from the audience and even death threats.
It’s reasonable to assume that if Nemo had embraced the essence of the competition, deeply understood the contest’s slogan “United by Music”, and not engaged in and promoted political issues against one of the participating countries, they wouldn’t have felt lonely and their experience of the competition would have been much more enjoyable and light-hearted. Similar to the experience of other contestants who avoided political engagement during their participation in the competition.
And despite Nemo still not drawing the right conclusions, they continue to complain during the interview that they will have to deal with questions about political controversies instead of focusing on questions about their first single since winning Eurovision.
Calls for Change in Eurovision Policies
Nemo calls for changes that the European Broadcasting Union needs to make in the competition, and indeed, the first fundamental change that should be implemented is to prohibit Eurovision contestants, who represent the face of the competition, from making political statements and controversial declarations during their participation in the contest.
Expressing political views and signing political statements contradict the essence of the competition, which strives to keep such issues out of the contest. Therefore, all participating representatives must commit to not engaging in these matters during their participation.
Moreover, such statements create division among the competition’s audience, pit audiences against each other, and generate unnecessary tensions surrounding the contest. Political statements should be kept out of the competition.
It’s important to note that the BBC interviewer, Noor Nanji, did not challenge Nemo with questions regarding their actions during the competition, such as why they chose to make political statements in the context of a competition that is supposed to be apolitical. The fact that the interviewer did not press Nemo on these issues raises questions about the professionalism of the interview, especially given that the BBC is not known for its support of Israel and has not covered the war in a neutral manner over the past year.
Switzerland in Eurovision 2024
Nemo is a non-binary singer who represented Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 with the song “The Code.” They were selected through an internal selection process. Nemo won the Eurovision contest, finishing in first place with a total of 591 points. This victory marks Switzerland’s third win in the history of the competition, having previously won in 1956 and 1988.
Eurovision 2025: This will be Switzerland’s 65th participation in the Eurovision Song Contest. Switzerland joined the competition in 1956, being one of the seven founding countries, and has won three times over the years. Its most recent victory was at the last Eurovision in 2025, with Nemo’s song “The Code.” This win follows Switzerland’s previous victory in 1988 with the song “Ne partez pas sans moi,” performed by international singer Céline Dion.