Ireland's Bambie Thug comes sixth as Switzerland claims Eurovision victory
Ireland's Bambie Thug, who came sixth, and Eurovision winner Nemo Mettler from Switzerland.
Ireland's Bambie Thug has secured a stunning sixth place in the Eurovision as Switzerland took home the winner's glass microphone.
The result marks Ireland's first top-10 finish since 2011 when Jedward sang Lipstick.
Bambie Thug stunned the audience on Saturday night with an emotive performance of their witchy song Doomsday Blue, accompanied by dancer and choreographer Matt Williams.
Ireland was given the full 12 points by the Australian Eurovision jury. Ireland received 136 points from the audience vote and finished with a total of 278 points.
Switzerland singer Nemo Mettler, who performed the operatic-pop song The Code, had been seen as one of the favourites to win the competition and they topped the jury vote.
The non-binary singer, 24, in a pink skirt and fluffy jumper, balanced on a tipping metal disc as they sang their entry on Saturday at the Malmo Arena in Sweden.
Switzerland won the competition with a points total of 591.
Nemo was in tears as they accepted the trophy on the Malmo Arena stage.
They said: “I want to say thank you so much — I hope this contest can live up to its promise and continue to stand for peace and dignity for every person in this world.”
Croatia, who were another one of the favourites to win, came in second place with Rim Tim Tagi Dim by Baby Lasagna. They finished on 547 points. Ukraine's alyona alyona and Jerry Heil got 453 points to come third with their song Teresa & Maria.
France finished fourth and controversially, Israel finished fifth. Israel entrant, Eden Golan, faced loud jeers and boos from the audience, and people shouting. There was also support for her, as claps and cheers were also heard.
The 20-year-old singer, whose song Hurricane was reworked from a previous track called October Rain, which was thought to reference the Hamas attacks on Israel that sparked the current conflict, remained calm despite the noise.
The competition has been mired in controversy surrounding the participation of Golan, and a large group of demonstrators were outside Malmo Arena as the acts performed.
Several protesters have also been detained and taken away by police, including Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg.
Some contestants appeared to reference conflicts throughout the world, with Lithuania’s Silvester Belt telling the audience to “spread love to the world”, while Bambie declared “love will always triumph hate”.
Earlier in the day, the Netherlands’ entry Joost Klein was disqualified by Eurovision organisers following an incident between the singer and a camerawoman.
This move was strongly criticised by the Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS, who called the penalty “very heavy and disproportionate”.
