Olly Alexander at Malmö Arena on Saturday nightOlly Alexander is reflecting on his experience at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest.
The It’s A Sin actor represented the UK at the song contest in Malmö over the weekend, where he finished in 18th place of 25 acts with his song Dizzy.
While Olly managed to secure 46 points from various international juries, his performance didn’t get any points from Eurovision viewers watching at home.
Sharing his feelings on Instagram on Tuesday evening, the former Years & Years singer began by praising this year’s winner, Nemo, who he hailed as “amazingly talented” and “the sweetest, kindest person”.
Olly and his dancers pictured during rehearsals for Eurovision 2024“Honestly I don’t know where to even begin with this whole experience, I’m going to be processing things for a long time!” Olly wrote.
“For now I just want to say I am so proud of the performance and my team, everybody absolutely smashed it and gave it their all to bring the vision to life!!
“I met so many talented wonderful people on and off the stage and I’m really thankful we were able to support each other throughout.”
Olly continued: “Though we may have received nilpoints from the voting public – which I shall be claiming as iconic! – I’ve also seen a lot of love and i’m truly grateful. Thank you.”
Eurovision took place amid a wave of controversy this year, largely due to Israel’s continued involvement in the competition despite the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
In the lead-up to the contest, the Palestine-led BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) movement called for a boycott of the broadcast.
The BDS movement and the campaign group Queers For Palestine also specifically urged Olly to withdraw from the competition, in solidarity with Palestine, which responded to in a public statement back in March.
“I know some people will choose to boycott this year’s Eurovision and I understand and respect their decision,” he said. “As a participant I’ve taken a lot of time to deliberate over what to do and the options available to me. It is my current belief that removing myself from the contest wouldn’t bring us any closer to our shared goal.
“Instead, I’ve been speaking with some of the other [Eurovision] contestants and we’ve decided that by taking part we can use our platform to come together and call for peace. I hope and pray that our calls are answered and there is an end to the atrocities we are seeing taking place in Gaza.”
Immediately after Saturday’s live final, many of this year’s Eurovision acts began speaking out against the way this year’s competition was run.
Even 2024 winner Nemo has been critical of Eurovision organisers, accusing them of a “double standard” by not permitting them to have a non-binary pride flag with them in the arena and admitting their Eurovision experience had been “really intense”, and “not just pleasant all the way”.
They also noted that “a lot of things” during the competition had not made it “seem like it was all about love and unity” which made them “really sad”.
