Käärijä, the former Eurovision entrant, has announced that he will not be the spokesperson for the Finnish jury for the finale of the competition. Käärijä was set to announce the Finnish jury’s points for the contest, but decided not to participate shortly before the finale. The runner-up of the Eurovision Song Contest in the previous year with his hit song, ‘Cha Cha Cha’, confirmed the news on his Instagram Stories. However, he did not mention why he would not participate but merely stated that it did not feel appropriate.
Shortly before the finale, Alessandra Mele, Norway’s spokesperson for the competition, who came fifth in the previous year with her song, ‘Queen of Kings’, announced her decision via TikTok to withdraw from giving out Norway’s points. Mele cited the “genocide going on” and pleaded for people to “open up your eyes, open up your heart, let love lead you to the truth. It’s right in front of you. Free Palestine.”
The Eurovision competition had faced multiple controversies in the week leading up to the finale. The announcement of Dutch Joost Klein’s disqualification began this trend. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which organised the competition, announced Klein’s disqualification on May 11. According to police, Klein allegedly made verbal threats towards a female member of the production crew, ultimately not allowing him to perform during the final dress rehearsal.
Bambie Thug, who represented Ireland in the competition, filed a complaint with Eurovision organisers due to the commentary by Israeli broadcaster KAN about their performance. Bambie’s performance was labelled “the most scary” of the night, and the broadcaster told viewers to “prepare your curses” – a violation of EBU’s rules. Another controversy arose due to the French Eurovision entry, Slimane, who interrupted his own performance to deliver an unexpected speech about “peace,” which could be in potential violation of EBU’s political neutrality guidelines
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