Olly Alexander shares message with fans after disappointing Eurovision result

Olly Alexander appeared to shrug off his disappointing Eurovision result, sharing a message with his fans on Instagram after the final in Sweden on Saturday (May 11).

The former singer of Years & Years and It’s a sin The star represented the UK with the original song “Dizzy”, but ended up placing 18th out of the 25 countries competing in the final.

The annual singing competition was won by Switzerland’s Nemo, who received a total of 591 points from the jury and public votes, comfortably beating Croatian favorite Baby Lasagna, who received 547 points.

Meanwhile, Alexander received a total of 46 points from the jury but none from the public vote.

Posting on Instagram the day after the finale, Alexander congratulated Nemo, who goes by their pronouns, writing in a story: “Nemo!!! You did it!!

“I’m so proud of you, it’s such an honor to be on this journey with you. You broke the code!!!

Alexander referenced Nemo’s winning song “The Code,” an operatic piece blending pop, industrial and techno that touched on themes of identity and self-expression.

The British pop singer was defended this weekend by his father, David Thornton, who told the BBC he enjoyed “every minute” of Alexander’s performance.

“For me, it’s a real surprise that the public didn’t really like this song, even though the juries gave it a very good score,” he said.

He continued: “It’s going to be a fantastic learning experience for him, he had a wonderful time there.

“It’s just one more step towards its next destination.”

The Eurovision Song Contest 2024 has been surrounded by controversy due to Israel’s participation amid its war on Gaza.

Pro-Palestinian protests took place outside Sweden’s Malmo Arena during the competition, while a number of candidates broke European Broadcasting Union rules on “political” statements by calling for peace during of the final.

The controversy grew further after Dutch delegate Joost, who was widely considered one of the favorites to win, was disqualified following an “incident” involving a member of the television team.

Ireland’s Bambie Thug, another favourite, then expressed doubts about his participation after missing the final dress rehearsal due to an “urgent matter” which they said they were discussing with the EBU.

They ultimately placed sixth in the competition after performing their song “Doomsday Blues.”

Speaking after the event, the musician, who uses their pronouns, accused the EBU of making a “scapegoat” of the Irish delegation and claimed Eurovision organizers had yet to respond to their claims that the “violence” was incited against them by the Israeli television network. KAN.

“KAN, the television station, incited violence against me two, three times,” Bambie said. “We spoke to the EBU about it. They said they would follow up.

“They waited until the last minute, we still haven’t received a statement, they allowed us to be scapegoated, they allowed us to be the spokesperson for our defense.”

They continued: “And yes the broadcaster disobeyed the rules and I hope next year they won’t be able to compete because of that.

“And behind the scenes, you don’t know the amount of pressure and the amount of work we did to turn things around, and I’m so proud of Nemo for winning… because it’s been so hard and I am so proud of us.

Bambie concluded by saying that they believe “we are what Eurovision is, the EBU is not what Eurovision is. Fuck the EBU, I don’t care. F*** them.

The independent has contacted the EBU and KAN for comment.