“We look forward to celebrating your victory soon in Biel at an official public reception,” city authorities said in a declaration on X, the former Twitter.
Yves Schifferle, head of the Swiss delegation at the contest, said Nemo put on a “sensational performance” after having to “withstand the enormous pressure they have been under for weeks.”
Controversies
The contest of 25 nations — which draws a global television audience of more than 100 million — was one of the most controversial ever.
Golan was the target of protests over the Gaza war and the Dutch competitor Joost Klein was disqualified over an incident with a camerawoman.
The incident had involved Klein making a “threatening movement” after he was filmed directly after coming off stage “against clearly made agreements,” Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS said.
Thousands of people took part in protests in Malmo against Israel’s participation in the contest because of its actions in Gaza.
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When Golan went on stage with her long lavender-streaked hair and matching nails to perform “Hurricane”, cheers and boos could be heard from the 9,000 audience in the Malmo Arena.
Boos could also be heard when Israel’s jury delivered its points to other acts and any time a country gave “Hurricane” high scores.
Golan, along with the singers from Croatia and Ukraine, had been among the pre-show favourites. Fans watching in Israel said the scoring was dominated by diplomacy.
“We didn’t get much from the countries. That’s obviously a political thing,” said Tal Shur, manager of a bar in Tel Aviv, that showed the Eurovision contest.
An Israeli victory would have meant that “maybe we are not hated so much, and that the music really won”, said Tal Bendersky, draped in an Israeli flag, before the results were announced.
Some Croatians also felt hard done by as Baby Lasagna’s song “Rim Tim Tagi Dim” scored highest in the public vote, in which Golan was second.
“It has been shown that the weight of politics has again been conclusive in the Eurovision contest,” said Nina Plese, 34, who was among several hundred to watch the contest on a screen in the centre of the Croatian capital Zagreb.
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Eurovision ‘needs fixing’
Organisers banned all flags other than those of the participating countries, but Nemo sneaked in an emblem representing non-binary people and displayed it during the show’s introduction.