Tali Golerant performing 'Fighter' for Luxembourg at the ESC grand final;
Credit: Corinne Cumming/ EBU/ eurovision.tv
Luxembourg marked its highly anticipated return to the Eurovision stage in the grand final on Saturday 11 May 2024, securing the thirteenth place out of 25 contestants, while Switzerland clinched this year's victory.
Tali, representing the Grand Duchy with the catchy “Fighter”, garnered a total of 103 points, 83 of which were awarded by the national juries of participating countries, while 20 points came from audiences tuning in from Europe and beyond.
This year's Eurovision final showcased a diverse array of acts, from power ballads to ephemeral pop anthems, with fire shows, glitter and impressive stunts.
The competition was rather tense as Croatia's Baby Lasagna (an audience favourite) came second while Ukraine, France and Israel trailed close behind. Surprisingly, the UK took home zero points from the public votes, finishing in eighteenth place with 46 points.
This year’s competition was not without its controversies. Billed as an apolitical celebration of European diversity, the contest featured rather heavily in political discourse, with demands for Israel's exclusion due to its military actions in Gaza which led to the loss of over 30,000 lives, following Hamas' deadly attack on 7 October in Israel. Booing and cheers were heard during Eden Golan’s performance on behalf of Israel – with noise partly audible in the broadcast viewed by tens of millions of people worldwide and in Europe.
The Netherlands' delegate, Joost Klein, was disqualified from the final due to a backstage incident involving a crew member. Despite this, the remaining 25 countries continued to vie for the coveted Eurovision trophy – a glass microphone.
In the end, it was Switzerland's non-binary singer, Nemo (meaning “no one” in Latin), who stole the show with their operatic drum-and-bass, rap and rock song, about their journey of self-discovery as non-binary, "The Code." Nemo's outstanding performance while balancing on a rotating metal disk, earned them the distinction of becoming the first non-binary winner in Eurovision history, amassing 591 points from the expert jury and the public vote combined. Eurovision will thus now be heading to Switzerland when the contest returns in 2025.
While Luxembourg's journey back to Eurovision may have ended with a thirteenth-place finish, the Grand Duchy can take pride in its return to the international stage with a powerful performance.
