Switzerland has won the largest international music competition: The 24-year-old musical talent Nemo from Biel took first place at this year’s “Eurovision Song Contest” (ESC) in Malmö, Sweden.
Nemo did it: Representing Switzerland, Nemo beat the competition last night in the final in the Malmö Arena in front of 9,000 spectators and an estimated more than 150 million viewers worldwide in front of the TV sets and won with the song ” The Code” the 68th Eurovision Song Contest 2024. The musical journey of the musical talent from Biel, which began with the victory as “SRF 3 Best Talent” in 2017 and won four “Swiss Music Awards” in 2018, has reached another sensational one Climax. The ESC 2025 will therefore take place in Switzerland.
Nemo after the victory: “This victory not only belongs to Switzerland and the Swiss music scene, but above all it is also a victory for the entire LGBTQIA+ community. I am so proud to have been the first non-binary person to win the ESC!”
Yves Schifferle, ESC delegation leader and head of show at SRF: “Nemo was able to withstand the enormous pressure that had been on Nemo for weeks due to the great betting odds, delivered a sensational performance and won the favor of the jury and audience. We are overjoyed that Nemo was now able to take victory for Switzerland after the excellent third and fourth places of Gjon’s Tears in 2021 and Luca Hänni in 2019.”
SRG General Director and member of the EBU Executive Board, Gilles Marchand, who watched Nemo’s victory on site in Malmö: “A great success for Nemo, for Switzerland and for the whole team that made this victory possible. Even though holding the ESC represents a major resource and financial challenge for every broadcaster, we are still pleased to be the venue for this popular major event in 2025. It is a great artistic and tourism opportunity to show the world what Switzerland is all about and it is now up to us to take on this challenge together.”
Switzerland is considered the birthplace of the ESC: in 1955, the then SRG general director Marcel Bezençon had the idea for an event that, in addition to entertainment, would also express the idea of a united Europe. The first “Grand Prix Eurovision de la Chanson” took place on May 24, 1956 in Lugano and was won by the Swiss Lys Assia with the song “Refrain”. Today’s world star Céline Dion won the second and last victory for Switzerland in Dublin in 1988 with the song “Ne partez pas sans moi”.