Switzerland’s Nemo stormed to an unassailable victory in the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest that was unavoidably overshadowed by controversy – as the UK’s Olly Alexander limped home with just 46 points.

The non-binary singer scored 365 points with the juries and 226 from the public for a total of 591 with their song The Code, sweeping past Croatian entry Baby Lasagna’s score of 547.

Collecting the trophy from Sweden’s 2023 winner Loreen, a tearful Nemo said: ‘I want to say thank you so much. I hope this contest can live up to its promise and continue to stand for peace and dignity for every person in this world.’

But Britain’s Olly Alexander, whose high-octane performance of Dizzy was marred by sound issues, scored only 46 from the juries and ‘nul points’ from the public. 

Despite a show-stopping performance of her song Hurricane, Israel’s Eden Golan failed to win over the juries, scoring just 52 points from the professional judges. But she scored a staggering 323 from the public – including 12 from UK viewers. 

This year’s competition has probably been the most contentious in its 68-year history – with one entrant axed after an alleged altercation with a camera operator and two spokespeople stepping down from giving out scores. 

Dutch rapper Joost Klein was given the boot from the competition by European Broadcasting Union (EBU) bosses after allegedly threatening a member of Eurovision crew.

It prompted an angry response from Dutch broadcasting bosses who curtly told reporters: ‘F*** the EBU.’ 

Several acts appeared to make anti-war statements – Ireland’s Bambie Thug shouting ‘love will always triumph hate’, Portugal’s Iolanda telling the crowd ‘Peace will prevail’ and France’s Slimane shouting: ‘United by music for love and for peace.’

And event chief Martin Osterdahl was met with a chorus of boos as he made the traditional ‘good to go’ announcement. He was then booed again giving results on behalf of the Netherlands, which quit the contest in protest of its act being axed.

Giving scores on behalf of the UK, Dame Joanna Lumley said the competition had nevertheless been ‘absolutely fabulous’. 

The contest took place at the Malmo Arena in Sweden, which pro-Palestinian protesters attempted to storm as they clashed with police while rallying against Israel’s presence in the contest.

Dozens of protesters locked arms and lay on the ground outside the venue draped in Palestine flags – and struggled with Swedish riot police who tried to remove them, yelling at ticket-holders walking into the arena: ‘Shame on you’.

Ticket-holders queued nearby decked out in colourful costumes and tinsel as protestors screamed ‘Shame on you’ before attempting to storm through barriers to get closer to the arena, prompting riot police to form a cordon.

The chaotic scenes come amid the withdrawal of two points announcers, the expulsion of a finalist over an alleged altercation with a camerawoman and several performers missing rehearsals in the most chaotic contest since it began in 1956.

There was also anger at Israel’s presence in the contest amid its war with Hamas. Eden Golan’s song was changed to remove what were thought to be allusions to the October 7 attacks – renamed from October Rain to Hurricane. 

Israel said via its official X, formerly Twitter account: ‘Queen Eden made it to the @eurovision top 5! Thank you Eden for giving our entire country strength. Thank you world for proving love will always win against hate. We love you.’ 

Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS opted not hand out points on behalf of its jury following the removal of Joost Klein from the competition after he was quizzed by police over an incident involving ‘a female member of the production crew’. 

A statement from Dutch broadcaster Avrotros has since called the decision ‘not proportional’ as they said they were ‘very disappointed and upset’ by his exclusion. It was left to Eurovision boss Martin Osterdahl to do so on behalf of the Dutch jury – to boos from the crowd.

The broadcaster wrote: ‘Now that Avrotros is no longer part of the Grand Final of the Eurovision Song Contest, we do not feel the need to hand out the points of the Dutch jury.

‘In consultation with Nikkie de Jager, who would act as our spokesperson tonight, we decided not to do it. Just like Nikkie, we imagined this evening very differently.’

Cornald Maas, commentator for the Dutch broadcaster, was less formal, telling reporters during an informal press conference: ‘I would almost say… f*** the EBU’. 

Eurovision bosses told MailOnline ‘AVROTROS’ version of events does not correspond with the statements shared with us and with police’.

Their spokesperson added: ‘We have a zero-tolerance policy towards inappropriate behaviour at our events and our priority is to secure a safe working environment for all staff working on this year’s Song Contest.’ 

Bambie Thug, who uses ‘they/them’ pronouns, appeared to follow a request from the EBU to change their face paint after bearing the word ‘ceasefire’ in Ogham script during earlier performances. 

Instead, the script on their appeared to read ‘crown the witch’ during the final – their campaign slogan in their fight for Eurovision glory. They performed in a witch outfit before stripping down to a costume in the colours of the transgender flag.

They had earlier hit out at Israel’s broadcaster KAN, claiming a commentator from the country had broken conduct rules.

The Israeli channel had warned its viewers in Israel that Bambie Thug’s performance would contain ‘voodoo’ and ‘Satanic symbols’ and said the singer liked to ‘talk negatively about Israel.’ 

Bambie Thug – who had previously called for Israel’s expulsion because of the war in Gaza – claimed the commentary breached Eurovision rules and that Israel should not be allowed to participate in the competition. 

They wrote in an Instagram story: ‘I have raised multiple complaints to the EBU regarding instances I have experienced this week. 

‘Earlier today they confirmed to my delegation in front of others that KAN’s commentator had broken the rules of conduct during the Eurovision semi-final.

‘I have been patiently waiting to hear what action is set to be taken by the EBU following this rule break. I have since seen a statement by EBU director general Noel Curran which contradicts this earlier confirmation.

‘I am still waiting for an official update from the EBU.’

In response, a spokesperson for the Israeli broadcaster Kan told the PA news agency: ‘We wish everyone the best of luck tonight.’ 

Last night, sources revealed Ms Golan had to be moved to another room within the arena to separate them from Bambie Thug, who they described as ‘being mad at Israel’.

One source told The Mail On Sunday: ‘The Israeli delegation thought it best to move Eden away from Bambie Thug and the Irish delegation because they don’t want to put any more pressure on her.’

The contest has been beset by controversy at Israel’s continued inclusion in the contest during its war with Hamas, which has killed thousands of civilians. 

It has seen two jury spokespeople stand down – Norway’s Alessandra, who protested Israel’s ongoing presence in Gaza, and Finland 2023 runner-up Kaarija, who said it ‘does not feel right’ handing out points.

Posting on his Instagram story, Kaarija, last year’s runner-up of the competition, wrote: ‘I have decided not to participate as the spokesperson for the Finnish jury in tonight’s Eurovision finale. Giving out the points does not feel right.’

He was replaced at short notice by radio journalist Toni Laaksonen, Finnish broadcaster YLE said. It came after he asked for a video of himself dancing with Israel’s Eden Golan to be removed from social media.

Scenes outside the Malmo Arena, witnessed by a Mail reporter, saw a large mob of protesters attempt to storm through barriers to get into the arena, leading to riot police rushing in and forming a cordon around the entrances.

Officers then pushed back against the protestors, who attempted to fight their way past them as they screaming pro-Palestinian slogans while loudspeakers played a series of Eurovision hits.​

Greta Thunberg, who had appeared at earlier protests and accused Israel of ‘artwashing’ itself with the contest, was also present at Saturday night’s action wearing a Palestinian keffiyeh scarf. She refused to speak to a Mail reporter. 

Police pushed protestors away from the arena entrance but dozens more returned, locking arms and sitting on the ground.

Other protestors waved Palestinian flags at ticket holders as they waited to enter the arena screaming ‘Free, free Palestine’.

A police helicopter hovered overhead as reinforcements in riot gear rushed to control the protest, with pepper spray being deployed.

Some protesters were seen wincing on the ground as others gave them water, seemingly after pepper spray had been used on them. 

Eurovision fans appeared terrified as they queued to enter the arena with many protestors angrily confronting them. 

One woman carrying an Israel flag was shouted at with the crowd screaming ‘shame on you.’

As tensions heightened, police kettled many of the protesters, attempting to keep them away from the main entrance. But they struggled to control the crowd as others arrived to join the protest.

Some of those joining the protests were seen being carted away from the scene by police – with several people wearing Palestinian keffiyeh scarves. MailOnline has contacted the Swedish Police Authority for comment.

The most contentious Eurovision contest to date has seen all manner of disturbance and disruption in the build-up to the final, which went off without a hitch ahead of the vote closing.

France’s entry Slimane interrupted his rehearsal performance to say the contest should be: ‘United by music, yes, but for love, for peace’ to the rapturous cheers of the audience.

In a speech whose wording was confirmed to Sky News, he told the crowd: ‘I dreamed about this dream, to be a singer and to sing peace… here. Every artist here want[s] to sing about love and sing about peace.

‘We need to be united by music, yes, but with love for peace. United by music yes, but with love for peace. Thank you so much. Thank you Europe.’

Eurovision has since confirmed that they knew he wanted to speak during his act, saying he wanted to send a ‘message of love’ – podcast The Euro Trip has reported.

Joost’s expulsion from the contest comes as Swedish police launch an investigation into an alleged altercation with a female member of the Eurovision production crew. 

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) announced on Saturday that Klein would no longer be competing just hours before the final is set to take place.  

A statement from the EBU said: ‘The Dutch artist Joost Klein will not be competing in the Grand Final of this year’s Eurovision Song Contest.

‘Swedish police have investigated a complaint made by a female member of the production crew after an incident following his performance in Thursday night’s Semi Final.

‘While the legal process takes its course, it would not be appropriate for him to continue in the Contest.

‘We would like to make it clear that, contrary to some media reports and social media speculation, this incident did not involve any other performer or delegation member.

‘We maintain a zero-tolerance policy towards inappropriate behaviour at our event and are committed to providing a safe and secure working environment for all staff at the Contest.

‘In light of this, Joost Klein’s behaviour towards a team member is deemed in breach of Contest rules.

‘The Grand Final of the 68th Eurovision Song Contest will now proceed with 25 participating songs.’

A spokeswoman for the Swedish Police Authority said: ‘A man is suspected of unlawful threats. The crime is said to have been committed at Malmo Arena on Thursday evening.

‘The man is questioned by the police but not detained. The plaintiff is an employee at Eurovision. The police have taken all essential investigative measures and questioned the suspect, plaintiff and witnesses. 

‘The investigation has been completed by the police. The case follows the normal legal process. The police have used faster prosecution and the case will now go to the prosecutor within a few weeks.’

A statement from the Netherlands’ Songfestival X page said Dutch radio and television broadcaster AVROTROS found Joost Klein’s disqualification by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) ‘disproportionate’ and said it was ‘very disappointed’.

In a statement it said: ‘Against clearly made agreements, Joost was filmed when he had just gotten off stage and had to rush to the greenroom.

‘At that moment, Joost repeatedly indicated that he did not want to be filmed. This wasn’t respected. This led to a threatening movement from Joost towards the camera. Joost did not touch the camerawoman.

‘This incident was reported, followed by an investigation by the EBU and police. Yesterday and today we consulted extensively with the EBU and proposed several solutions. Nevertheless, the EBU has still decided to disqualify Joost Klein.

‘AVROTROS finds the penalty very heavy and disproportionate. We stand for good manners – let there be no misunderstanding about that – but in our view, an exclusion order is not proportional to this incident.’

His participation was already in doubt after he failed to perform at two dress rehearsals on Friday, with Swedish police later announcing it was investigating the singer.