Swiss rapper and singer Nemo won this year's Eurovision Song Contest with The Code, a drum-and-bass, opera, rap and rock tune about Nemo's journey of self-discovery as a non-binary person.
Nemo scored 591 points, surpassing the runner-up, Croatia, which settled for second place. Ukraine clinched third place, followed by France. Despite recent predictions of a second-place finish, Israel ranked fifth with 375 points—52 from the judges and 323 from the public.
"I am so proud of the place we've reached! Proud of the honor I had representing my country with dignity and proud to be the one sent on this mission this particular year," Israel's Eden Golan said after receiving the final score. "I never forget our captives and dedicate my participation in the contest to them. Am Yisrael Chai."
At the finale of her performance Hurricane, she stepped off the stage in tears, exclaiming, "Wow. I can't believe it's over."
Golan was a standout in the popular vote, becoming the second audience favorite, only slightly behind Croatia. Her powerful performance and strong public support highlighted her as a leading contender.
However, her prospects for winning were significantly hindered by highly unfavorable voting from the jury, which ultimately kept her from contending for the top prize.
Eden Golan performs Hurricane at Eurovision final
(Video: Courtesy of Kan and EBU)
During the jury voting phase of the contest, despite predictions by betting agencies, the majority of European countries—25 in total—chose to overlook the Israeli representative and award her a goose egg.
Latvia awarded Israel two points, while Malta, Georgia, Moldova, and France each gave three points. Lithuania contributed four points, and both Estonia and Belgium gave five points each. Norway, Germany and Cyprus each allocated eight points.
In total, Israel received 52 points from 11 countries. Each country that awarded points to Israel was met with boos and jeers from the audience in the auditorium. Israel gave its highest score of 12 points to Jerusalem-born Tali Golergant, the representative from Luxembourg.
Reuters contributed to this story.