BERLIN — Swiss Eurovision fans were gearing up on Sunday to give a hero’s welcome to singer Nemo, who won the 68th Eurovision Song Contest with “The Code,” an operatic pop-rap ode to the singer’s journey toward embracing a non-gender identity.
The singer, who is Swiss but currently lives in Berlin, was due to arrive in Zurich on Sunday night, national broadcaster SRF reported.
The Swiss contestant beat Croatian rocker Baby Lasagna to the title by earning the most points from a combination of national juries and spectators from around the world.
Nemo, 24, is the first non-binary winner of the contest that has long been considered a safe haven by the LGBTQ community. Nemo is also the first Swiss winner since 1988, when Canadian singer Celine Dion competed under the Swiss flag.
In a post-victory press conference, Nemo expressed 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 newly crowned star online and said residents were ready to celebrate them.
“Congratulations! The city of Biel is extremely proud and says: Bravo and Merci Nemo for the fantastic music and performance and also for bringing the colors of Biel to the world!”, stated the city on its website. “Your city will celebrate and welcome you it.”
Biel, with a population of around 60,000, is located about 100 kilometers (60 mi) southwest of Basel on Lake Biel. The city is bilingual, German and French, and is considered the watchmaking capital of Switzerland.
“Nemo creates and moves freely between classical, alternative and popular culture,” said the city’s cultural authority, Glenda Gonzalez Bassi. “A wonderful example of the dynamic and inclusive culture we are proud of in Biel.”
Nemo – full name Nemo Mettler – bested finalists from 24 other countries, who performed in front of a live audience of thousands and around 180 million viewers worldwide. Each contestant had three minutes to combine catchy songs and eye-popping spectacles into performances capable of winning the hearts of viewers. Musical styles vary between rock, disco, techno and rap – sometimes a mashup of more than one.
Across Switzerland, people were already starting to think about next year, when the country will host the next Eurovision contest. Traditionally, the winner’s municipality hosts the music competition the following year.
The cities of Geneva, Basel and St. Gallen have already positioned themselves to compete as hosts for the next contest, SRF reported.
“It’s a great artistic and tourist opportunity to show the world what Switzerland is all about, and now it’s up to us to take on this challenge together,” Gilles Marchand, General Director of the media company SRG, an association of many different Swiss media organizations.
As for Berlin – his adopted second hometown – Nemo told German news agency dpa ahead of the Eurovision contest that “I love Berlin so much because it is such a creative city that is constantly changing. It’s a fun city.”
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