Italy act Maneskin won the Eurovision Song Contest in Rotterdam with Zitti E Buoni. The song scored an incredible 524 points, and allows Italy to host Eurovision next year.
The Covid 19 pandemic threatened the annual contest. Organisers put strict rules in place, meaning only 3,500 fans were in attendance. The 2019 winner, Duncan Laurence has reigned supreme for two years after last years Eurovision was cancelled. He became unable to perform or hand over the trophy following a positive Covid test.
The pandemic still threatened the future of Eurovision. A spurt of positive Covid 19 tests saw many performers miss rehearsals and some live shows in Ahoy Arena, Rotterdam. Rehearsal footage was broadcast in place of acts such as Iceland’s Dadi Freyr who was self isolating in his hotel room. Despite it not being a live performance, the Icelandic singer came fourth.
The Italian rock bands win has come under criticism following accusations of drug taking during the performance. Lead singer Damiano David was seen “leaning over a table”. Damiano says he was looking downward as guitarist Thomas Raggi broke a glass during the show.
The band denies any wrong doing in a social media post where they claim “they are really against drugs” and “NEVER used cocaine”.
Eurovision organisers are going to test the winners for drug misuse, although the EBU could “not immediately sort it”. They did, however, confirm broken glass was found after the show during a check.
The UK Eurovision curse – nil points!
The United Kingdom was dealt a humiliating defeat, scoring the dreaded Nil Points and coming last.
James Newman, who performed his own song Embers, took the crushing defeat in good humour. He graciously accepted applause from a live audience and drank beer to soften the blow. Germany, who came above England, only scored 3 points for I Don’t Feel Hate.
The result, which BBC presenter Graham Norton called “unfair”, left fans raging on social media. They question whether it is “time for us to pull out of Eurovision” with another calling “Nil points at the ESC an insult to the music industry”
The United Kingdom last won Eurovision in 1997 with Katrina Leskanich’s ‘Love shine a light’. It has only one five times since 1956. The complete list of UK winners are Sandie Shaw’s “Puppet on a string” (1967), Lulu’s ‘Boom Bang a Bang’ (1969), Brotherhood of Man ‘Save all your kisses for me’ (1976) and Bucks Fizz ‘Making your mind up’ (1981).
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