This year’s Eurovision Song Contest has given us many wild moments, and it was impossible to predict the winner until the very end. The Swiss singer Nemo defied the odds and came out victorious with “The Code”, making history as the first non-binary person to win the contest.
Nemo, who identifies as s non-binary and uses they/them pronouns, described their song as an attempt to crack their own code and enter the kingdom of authenticity.
“‘The Code’ is about the journey I started with the realization that I am neither a man nor a woman. Finding myself has been a long and often difficult process for me. But nothing feels better than the freedom I have gained by realizing that I am non-binary,” said Nemo in a statement.
The message of “The Code” resonated with the Eurovision jury, and Nemo received 22 sets of the maximum 12 points to win the jury vote with 365 points, for a total of 591 points. They defied the odds and eventually defeated the Croatian front-runner Baby Lasagna with the song “Rim Tim Tagi Dim”, who came in second despite winning the public vote.
In addition to being the first non-binary person to win Eurovision, Nemo is also the first Swiss contestant to be crowned as the winner since Celine Dion with “Ne partez pas sans moi” in 1988.
