Swiss fans prepare to welcome Eurovision winner Nemo home

BERLIN — Swiss Eurovision fans were preparing Sunday for a hero’s welcome to singer Nemo, who won the 68th Eurovision Song Contest with “The Code,” a pop-rap operatic ode to the singer’s journey to adoption of a non-gender identity.

The singer, Swiss but currently residing in Berlin, was due to land in Zurich on Sunday evening, national channel SRF said.

The Swiss competitor beat Croatian rocker Baby Lasagna to the title by winning the most points from national juries and viewers around the world.

Nemo, 24, is the first non-binary winner of the competition which has long been considered a safe haven by the LGBTQ community. Nemo is also the first Swiss winner since 1988, when Canadian singer Céline Dion competed under the Swiss flag.

At a press conference after the victory, Nemo expressed his pride in accepting the trophy for “people who dare to be themselves and people who need to be heard and understood.” We need more compassion, we need more empathy.

Nemo’s hometown of Biel congratulated the new star online and said locals were ready to celebrate him.

“Congratulations! The city of Biel is extremely proud and says: Well done and thank you Nemo for the fantastic song and performance and also for carrying the colors of Biel to the world!” the city said on its website. “Your city will celebrate you and welcome you.”

Biel, with a population of around 60,000, is located about 100 kilometers southwest of Basel on Lake Biel. The city is bilingual in German and French and is considered the watchmaking capital of Switzerland.

“Nemo creates and evolves freely between classic, alternative and popular culture,” said Glenda Gonzalez Bassi, the city’s culture manager. “A wonderful example of the vibrant and inclusive culture we pride ourselves on in Biel.”

Nemo – full name Nemo Mettler – beat finalists from 24 other countries, all of whom performed in front of audiences of thousands and around 180 million viewers around the world. Each contestant had three minutes to merge catchy tunes and breathtaking spectacle into performances capable of capturing the hearts of viewers. Musical styles ranged from rock and disco to techno and rap, sometimes a mixture of several.

Throughout Switzerland, people were already starting to think about next year, when the country will host the next Eurovision contest. Traditionally, the winner’s county hosts the music competition the following year.

The cities of Geneva, Basel and St. Gallen have already positioned themselves to compete as hosts of the next competition, SRF reported.

“It’s a great artistic and tourist opportunity to show the world what Switzerland is and it’s now up to us to take on this challenge together,” declares Gilles Marchand, general director of SSR, a media company which brings together numerous associations. Swiss media organizations.

As for Berlin – their second adopted city – Nemo told German news agency dpa ahead of the Eurovision contest: “I love Berlin so much because it’s such a creative city that is constantly evolving. It’s a fun town.”

In the Croatian capital of Zagreb, thousands of people gathered in the main square to welcome second-place finisher Baby Lasagna as he returned home. Singing “We Love You,” the crowd cheered as the singer performed his catchy rock number “Rim Tim Tagi Dim,” which addresses the issue of young Croatians leaving the country in search of a better life.

The Croatians were hoping for a victory and Baby Lasagna broke down in tears when he took the stage, saying he did not expect such a reception. “We did our best, I hope you are happy,” he said.

Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic was also present in the crowd and said: “We are proud to have achieved such a result, which is the best since Croatia became independent” from the former Yugoslavia in 1991.

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Associated Press writer Jovana Gec in Belgrade, Serbia, contributed to this report.