🇨🇭 Switzerland: Nemo Says “I Felt Very Alone” During Eurovision 2024

In an interview with the BBC, Eurovision 2024 winner Nemo has spoken about their experiences during this year’s contest in Malmö, Sweden.

During the interview, Nemo opened up about how they felt during the contest, saying “I felt very alone” and that Eurovision’s organisers the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) didn’t do enough to support them or fellow artists during the contest.

Responding to Nemo’s interview, the EBU has said they have introduced changes that would provide “more clarity and protection” for artists at Eurovision in the future.

The Swiss singer, who took the victory at Eurovision 2024 with their song “The Code”, said that they believed the contest still had good intentions, despite saying that “in a way” the show was overshadowed by political controversy.

Nemo spoke to the BBC about this year’s contest following the release of their new song, “Eurostar”. When asked to reflect on their experiences of the contest, they described a “tense” atmosphere backstage.

Additionally, the singer claimed that situations arose involving them and other artists which the EBU are still investigating:

There were situations that are still being investigated by the EBU.

They told us they would get back to us and they haven’t yet. It’s a shame that the EBU takes so long in my honest opinion.

Referring to other artists who made complaints to the EBU during the contest, such as Ireland’s Bambie Thug, Nemo said that they hoped the contest organisers would do more in the future to protect their welfare:

I really hope they have things in place for the next year to make sure that part of the whole contest, especially mentally, gets taken care of.

Because I did feel alone and I know that some other artists were also feeling that way.

When asked by the BBC if they felt that the EBU had done enough to protect artists at the contest, Nemo reportedly paused before answering the question. Nemo was among many artists who were under pressure to boycott the contest over Israel’s participation by fans, alongside artists like Portugal’s Iolanda and the UK’s Olly Alexander.

After a pause, they said they felt the EBU “had not done enough”:

No. I don’t think so.

Because I sometimes felt very alone with a lot of things, or at least with the other artists, and it took long for them to get back to artists when they wrote to them.

In response to Nemo’s claims, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) issued a statement to the BBC. In the statement, the organisation says that it was “very mindful” of Nemo and other artists’ comments about their experiences at Eurovision 2024.

They referred to the independent investigation, led by Pernille Gaardbo, which has recommended structural changes in how the contest is organised and said that this has led to them “developing a duty of care protocol for people participating in the contest”.

Additionally, the EBU says they are still internally investigating incidents that happened in Malmö:

The process of dealing internally with individual incidents is ongoing and we are determined to ensure all rules are applied fairly and consistently.

The EBU hopes that the new duty of care protocol, alongside other recommendations, will ensure artists like Nemo and others working in any capacity at Eurovision feel safe:

We believe these will help address many of the issues in Malmö and help everyone, no matter their role, to have a positive and safe experience at the Eurovision Song Contest.

Eurovision 2024 became one of the most controversial editions of the contest in recent memory. Several artists, such as Belgium’s Mustii, Greece’s Marina Satti and Israel’s Eden Golan, have spoken in interviews about the challenges they experienced in competing at the contest.

Many artists have claimed they were the subject of hateful comments and abuse. Ireland’s Bambie Thug complained to the EBU about comments made about them by Israeli commentators during the contest, while Golan has said the boos of unhappy fans inside the arena was “intense” and that an “anti-booing system” made the boos quieter on TV than they were in person.

Nemo said they felt backstage incidents, such as the disqualification of the Dutch act Joost Klein over an incident with a female camera operator, partly overshadowed their win.

On the other hand, they said that telling the story of “The Code”, which highlights Nemo’s experience as a non-binary person, was “an important story to tell”, and that they were “really happy” it had made an impact.

Knowing that it had an impact, and a lot of people found something in that, and a lot of people gained something from that, especially young queer people, that makes me really happy.

As the first non-binary winner of Eurovision in its history, Nemo stated that they were “really grateful to be a part of this moment in time”:

It was only right after Eurovision that I started to realise the scale of what this moment meant to a lot of people.

I didn’t grow up with a non-binary person to look up to. I think we’ve recently had these role models come up.

Nemo also said that they still believed Eurovision had good intentions and values, which is why they originally decided to compete this year.

They said they were happy that they made “friends from all over Europe” while competing at the contest, and that Eurovision was about coming together with people from different cultures at its heart.

Many of Nemo’s fellow artists, such as Poland’s Luna and Finland’s Windows95Man, have recently made cameos in the music video for their new song “Eurostar”.

I made friends from all over Europe and I would say I made very meaningful connections with other artists from places I’ve never been before, listening to music I’ve never heard before, getting to know people that are different to you. Always I think that’s a very good thing.

At the core of this contest, I think it’s an exchange of different cultures and coming together and I really believe in that sentiment.

Nemo’s final reflection on their Eurovision experience was that their journey was full of “crazy ups and downs”.

Now, as they follow in the footsteps of previous Eurovision winners and forge their musical career, the artist says that they’re focused on being authentic to themself:

I was a Swiss-based artist that a few people from Switzerland knew and suddenly you have eyes all around you from all around the world.

I think the goal for me is to find my own voice.

Image Source: EBU / Alma Bengtsson | Source: BBC