ABACA:
The crowning chapter was invited to this 68th edition, which took place this Saturday, May 11, in Sweden’s second city, Malmö. Although heavily marked by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, this year’s contest honored the vitality of Swiss candidate Nemo.
After winning in 2023, Sweden hosted this year’s 68th edition of Eurovision, which took place this Saturday, May 11, in Malmö. As such, Sweden’s Crown Princess Victoria, daughter of King Carl XVI Gustaf, was invited in the opening minutes of the competition to cheer on the candidates, including the country’s duo Markus and Martinus. “Good evening, it’s a great honor to welcome you all to Sweden. I hope you enjoy the show and I wish all the contestants the best of luck,” he said in a white suit from Stockholm’s Royal Palace. Words that, in the end, will not bring luck to its performers, because this year Eurovision 2024 was awarded to Switzerland by the singer Nemo. Behind her is Croatia with Baby Lasagna, followed by Alyona Alyona and Jerry Hale from Ukraine.
A very remarkable appearance on social networks, especially since the competition was accompanied by many controversies this year. Among them, the exclusion of Jost Klein, one of the favorites wearing the colors of Holland. A few hours before the broadcast of the show, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which organizes Eurovision, announced the withdrawal due to an incident with a member of the team, as well as his problematic behavior towards the Israeli candidate Eden Golan. The competition is taking place in a hot geopolitical context. If this is meant to be apolitical, it is hard for some candidates to forget the conflict between Hamas and Israel, particularly after the October 7, 2023 attacks and military operations in the Gaza Strip. Under the Princess of Sweden’s post, many comments addressed the dismissal of Joost Klein with the hashtag #justicepoorjoost.
Kate Middleton on the piano
For the rest, this is not the first time that crowned heads invite themselves to Eurovision. We remember the appearance of Kate Middleton last year, when the games were held in the city of Liverpool, Great Britain. The Princess of Wales, who has played the piano since she was young, surprised the audience by appearing in a pre-recorded video by the Ukrainian winners of the 2022 edition, the Kalush Orchestra, which was broadcast that evening.
Source: Le Figaro
