Austrian singer JJ won the 69th Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday, beating Israel’s Yuval Raphael in a night marked by discord over Israel’s participation and a celebration of music and unity. JJ, whose real name is Johannes Kellner, took home the top prize with his operatic song "Wasted Love," leaving Raphael in second place with his upbeat number "I’m Gonna Break Your Heart."
Highlights of the Evening
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Raphael’s Statement: Before performing, Raphael stated, "We’re all together here tonight. We want to celebrate love and peace." This sentiment reflected the evening’s tone despite the tensions surrounding Israel’s participation.
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Context of the Contest: The Gaza war cast a shadow over this year’s contest, leading many countries to boycott or threaten to boycott due to concerns about human rights abuses by Israeli forces during their military campaign against Hamas militants in Gaza last month. However, this did not appear to affect performances or attitudes at the show held at Basel’s Messe Congress Centre.
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Israel’s Participation: Israel has participated in Eurovision since 1973, but its inclusion this year faced opposition from countries like Ireland and Norway. Many other European nations chose not to boycott after organizers agreed that any country could participate as long as they were members of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) or its associate members, which include several Arab states such as Lebanon and Jordan.
Performances
Saturday night’s show featured a variety of performances, including:
- Sweden: Loreen with pounding electropop
- Germany: Lord Of The Lost with quirky rock
- Italy: Marco Mengoni as an outrageous diva
- Spain: Blanca Paloma with an energetic performance
- Albania: Albina Grucela with a haunting ballad
- Portugal: Mimicat with an upbeat number
- Ukraine: Tvorchi with an emotional rendition of “My Universe,” representing their country for the first time since Russia invaded Ukraine two years ago.
The grand final also included performances from various countries, showcasing the diversity of talent across Europe.
Eurovision’s Cultural Impact
Eurovision is one of Europe’s biggest cultural events but has faced criticism for being overly commercialized in recent years. It is broadcast live on television across more than 40 countries, reaching hundreds of millions of viewers each year, making it one of the most-watched non-sporting events globally, alongside the Summer Olympics and the FIFA World Cup.
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