Swiss rapper/singer Nemo won the 68th Eurovision Song Contest on May 12 with “The Code” an ode to the singer’s journey toward embracing being nonbinary, the AP reported.
By edging Croatian singer Baby Lasagna, Nemo, 24, became the first nonbinary winner of the contest that has long been seen as LGBTQ+-inclusive. Nemo (full name: Nemo Mettler) is also the first Swiss winner since 1988, when Canadian icon Celine Dion competed under the Swiss flag.
However, the contest did not proceed smoothly. Hours before the final, Dutch musician Joost Klein was removed from the contest over a backstage altercation that authorities were investigating.
Also, Israeli singer Eden Golan—who spent Eurovision week under tight security and finished fifth—took the stage to boos and cheers to perform the power ballad “Hurricane.” Eurovision organizers demanded a change to the original title of her song, which was “October Rain” —an apparent reference to the Oct. 7 Hamas attack that killed about 1,200 people in Israel and triggered the war in Gaza.
Some of the other competitors included queer British singer Olly Alexander, French singer Slimane and Finland’s Windows95man—who emerged from a giant onstage egg wearing very little clothing.