(L-R) Tali Golergant, aka TALI, winner of the Luxembourg Song Contest 2024; Eric Lehman, head of the Luxembourgish Eurovision delegation; Credit: Jazmin Campbell / Chronicle.lu

Tali Golergant, aka TALI, has been crowned the winner of the Luxembourg Song Contest and will represent the Grand Duchy at this year's Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) in Malmö, Sweden.

An energetic evening full of promising local talent and surprise guest appearances awaited the almost 2,000-strong crowd at Rockhal in Esch-Belval on Saturday 27 January 2024. Cheering fans waved Luxembourgish and EU flags, as well as placards supporting their favourite acts, throughout the evening.

The eight hopeful finalists performing on stage were Joel Marques with his song Believer, EDSUN with Finally Alive, Naomi Ayé with Paumée sur terre, Angy & Rafa Ela with Drop, One Last Time with Devil in the Detail, Krick with Drowning in the Rain, CHAiLD with Hold On and TALI with Fighter. There were also special performances by Vicky Leandros and Anne-Marie David who won ESC for Luxembourg in 1972 and 1973, respectively, as well as local folkpunk band Schëppe Siwen. Four other former ESC winners took the stage later in the evening: Ruslana (Ukraine, ESC 2004); Katrina Leskanich (of Katrina & the Waves; UK, ESC 1997); Alexander Rybak (Norway, ESC 2009); Charlotte Perrelli (Sweden, ESC 1999).

The first round of voting saw TALI, Krick and Joel Marques emerge as the Top 3 finalists; the second round resulted in an overwhelming overall victory for TALI. The voting mechanism mirrored that of the Eurovision Song Contest, with the jury votes making up half of the total votes and the audience's votes making up the remaining half. The eight international juries represented the United Kingdom, Cyprus, Belgium, Slovenia, Germany, Portugal, France and ESC 2024 host country Sweden. The juries awarded a total of 94 points to TALI, 80 points to Krick and 66 points to Joel Marques. With the audience votes counted, TALI emerged victorious with an overall score of 178 points.

Speaking at a press conference after the show, TALI noted how her winning song, Fighter, reflected the challenges she faced after moving to New York, where rejections only made her stronger. She mentioned how she moved back to Luxembourg two months ago and now plans to focus on her music here. She described it as an "honour" to be able to "represent this beautiful country" as it returns to Eurovision after a 31-year absence.