Eurovision organisers have conveyed their concern about the disregard for the rules of the singing competition by some delegations, which concluded on Saturday. The competition is governed by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which has received numerous criticisms from various participating artists, including Bambie Thug, the Irish contender. Bambie argued that the EBU failed to respond to provocative comments made by an announcer from Kan, Israeli’s state-owned broadcaster, leaving them feeling threatened.
Due to this, Bambie decided not to attend the dress run-through or flag ceremony prior to Saturday’s finale. They did, however, perform as originally planned on the event night but later held an emotional and profanity-filled press conference where they expressed their dissatisfaction with EBU for not taking action against the contentious remarks aired on Kan. They added that its the passionate contestants, their supportive community, and their love and power that add value to Eurovision, not the EBU. They also expressed pride in the queer and non-binary participants, stating their influential role.
Another contentious issue was Israel’s participation amidst allegations of human rights violations in Gaza. Silvester Belt, the Lithuanian participant, shared that having to perform after Israel was an emotionally draining experience. Even Angelina Mango from Italy bemoaned the stressful pre-competition atmosphere, while Swiss winner Nemo called for an overhaul of the competition. Such was the controversy surrounding Israel’s involvement, presenters from Norway and Finland withdrew their services for the public voting when Israel remained in the fray.
Additionally, there were several concerns expressed by Eurovision members about the Israeli delegation filming without consent and conflicts regarding the prohibition of the European Union flag at the Malmo venue.
The 2024 rendition of Eurovision was, without a doubt, the most disputed in the competition’s long-standing history, primarily because of the unceremonious expulsion of Joost Klein, the Dutch performer, due to a disagreement with a female camera operator.
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) reacted without pointing out any explicit grievances. Still, it expressed its disappointment over the lack of rule abidance and the true essence of the contest, both during the on-site events and the broadcasts by certain delegations at the Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö.
Conversations were held with several delegations during the course of the event to address various issues that had been raised, stated the EBU. The governing bodies of the Union, along with delegation heads, will reassess the situation during the Malmö-based contest, with a focus to inspire a more positive future direction and ensure that all uphold the event’s values.
While controversy raged, audience numbers thrived. The Irish performer reaching the finals, the first occurrence since 2018, assisted RTÉ in almost doubling its viewer count for the event.
The event’s concluding night drew an average of 666,000 spectators, accounting for 54% of the potential audience on RTÉ One, a notably large increase compared to last year’s competition, which drew an average viewership of 362,000, representing a 38% share of the total audience. It was Bambie Thug’s dramatic sixth-place finish that made Eurovision night in Malmo so unforgettable.