Switzerland’s Nemo wins 68th Eurovision Song Contest after event roiled by protests over war in Gaza

Eurovision organizers ordered a change to the original title of her song, “October Rain” — an apparent reference to the Oct. 7 Hamas attack that killed about 1,200 people in Israel and triggered the war in Gaza.

The show was typically eclectic Eurovision fare, ranging from the pop-zombie folk hybrid of Estonia’s 5Miinust x Puuluup to the folk-inflected power pop of Greece’s Marina Satti and Armenia’s Ladaniva and the goofy 1990s nostalgia of Finland’s Windows95man, who emerged from a giant onstage egg wearing very little clothing.

Britain’s Olly Alexander offered upbeat dance track “Dizzy,” while Ireland’s gothic Bambie Thug summoned a demon onstage and brought a scream coach to Malmo, and Spain’s Nebulossa boldly reclaimed a term used as a slur on women in “Zorra.”

Nemo had been a favorite going into the contest, alongside Baby Lasagna, whose song “Rim Tim Tagi Dim” is a rollicking rock number that tackles the issue of young Croatians leaving the country in search of a better life.

The contest returned to Sweden, home of last year’s winner, Loreen, half a century after ABBA won Eurovision with “Waterloo” — Eurovision’s most iconic moment. ABBA did not appear in person in Malmo, though their digital “ABBA-tars” from the “ABBA Voyage” stage show did.

A trio of former Eurovision winners — Charlotte Perrelli, Carola and Conchita Wurst — performed “Waterloo” in tribute.

Though Eurovision’s motto is “united by music,” this year’s event has proven divisive. Protests and dissent overshadowed a competition that has become a campy celebration of Europe’s varied — and sometimes baffling — musical tastes and a forum for inclusiveness and diversity.

Thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators marched for the second time in a week on Saturday through Sweden’s third-largest city, which has a large Muslim population, to demand a boycott of Israel and a cease-fire in the seven-month Gaza war that has killed almost 35,000 Palestinians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.

Several hundred gathered outside the Malmo Arena before the final, with some shouting “shame” at arriving music fans, and facing off with police blocking their path. Climate activist Greta Thunberg was among those escorted away by police.