The Eurovision Song Contest 2024 grand final is scheduled to take place on May 11. The contest has seen controversy surrounding the decision by the European Broadcasting Union to allow Israel to participate in the contest amidst the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict, with organisations such as Queers for Palestine urging contestants to boycott the event. Despite this, the show is set to go on. This year, 37 countries entered the contest, with 26 of them set to perform in the final. The Big Five – France, Spain, Germany, Italy, and the UK – along with the host nation Sweden qualified automatically for the final.
Representing the UK at the contest is Olly Alexander, who is performing his song ‘Dizzy’. Alexander has come under fire for the song allegedly sounding similar to Pet Shop Boys’ ‘It’s A Sin’. According to Eurovision World, Croatia with Baby Lasagna, and their song ‘Rim Tim Tagi Dim,’ is the favourite to win the competition.
The full running order for the final is as follows: Sweden, Ukraine, Germany, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Israel, Lithuania, Spain, Estonia, Ireland, Latvia, Greece, United Kingdom, Norway, Italy, Serbia, Finland, Portugal, Armenia, Cyprus, Switzerland, Slovenia, Croatia, Georgia, France and Austria.
The Netherlands’ contestant Joost Klein was placed under investigation by the organisers of the contest. Klein has not been allowed to perform his song ‘Europapa’ during the final dress rehearsal in Malmö, Sweden and it is currently uncertain whether he will be able to perform in the grand final.
The Deputy Director of the EBU recently wrote that while the EBU strongly supports freedom of speech and the right to express opinions in a democratic society, it “firmly opposes any form of online abuse, hate speech, or harassment directed at our artists or any individuals associated with the contest.”
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