Eurovision 2024 begins as performers steps out on the signature turquoise carpet in Sweden
The 68th annual Eurovision Song Contest rolled out its signature turquoise carpet to welcome performers representing 39 countries to the annual music competition, held this year in Malmo, Sweden.
A cold and wet afternoon in the south of Sweden bathed the event in a gentle rain shower, though the eccentric personalities and performers the competition is famous for still managed to shake the rain off their feathers and show off their colourful sides.
Australia is being represented in the competition by electronic music duo Electric Fields: vocalist Zaachariaha Fielding and keyboard player Michael Ross. The duo have been described as "Daft Punk meets Nina Simone in the Deep Forest".
Another Australian, 17-year-old singer/dancer Silia Kapsis is also competing. Kapsis, whose parents of Greek and Cypriot origin, will be representing Cyprus at Eurovision.
Australia is being represented in the competition by electronic music duo Electric Fields: vocalist Zaachariaha Fielding and keyboard player Michael Ross. Alma Bengtsson/EBU
Fielding, Ross and Kapsis were joined by other artists, including Croatia's Baby Lasagna, Ukraine's Aylona Aylona and Jerry Heil, Finland's Windows95man, Ireland's Bambi Thug and the UK's Olly Alexander.
While you would not exactly call the event a washout, it was exposed to a quick Swedish afternoon downpour. But that did little to dampen the enthusiasm of the performers, who preened, paraded and chatted in front of media and fans.
READ MORE: Sweden bound: The who, the what and the can we? of 2024's Eurovision
But there were departures from Eurovision tradition this year, with a significantly tighter security cordon around the event.
Eurovision fans are traditionally invited to line one side of the competition's signature turquoise carpet, but this year were relegated to a distant view from the other side of the canal which runs the length of the Malmo Live venue.
Another Australian, 17-year-old singer/dancer Silia Kapsis is also competing. Kapsis, whose parents of Greek and Cypriot origin, will be representing Cyprus at Eurovision. Alma Bengtsson/EBU
One country was conspicuously absent from the event: singer Eden Golan, who is representing Israel, did not attend. Golan was absent because the event clashed in the calendar with Holocaust Remembrance Day.
A spokeswoman for Israel's public broadcaster Kan said Golan and the Israeli delegation would instead attend a small ceremony attending the national holiday of remembrance in Israel.
READ MORE: The most memorable Eurovision moments of all time
Though the event generally distances itself from political action, there have been calls to either boycott the event or to expel Israel for the competition, following the escalation of its military campaign in Gaza in the wake of the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel.
For their part, Electric Fields' Fielding and Ross have taken the position that the competition's purpose is to project a message of peace and reconciliation.
"Because of what's happening around in the world, I feel like the job and being part of the Eurovision thing, our job as a collective with the countries coming together: it's way bigger," says Fielding.
The Full Eurovision Program Guide
Live broadcasts on SBS and SBS On Demand:
Semi-Final 1: Wednesday, May 8, at 5am AEST
Semi-Final 2: Friday, May 10, at 5am AEST
Grand Final: Sunday, May 12, at 5am AEST
Primetime replays on SBS and SBS On Demand:
Semi-Final 1: Friday, May 10, at 7.30pm AEST
Semi-Final 2: Saturday, May 11, at 7.30pm AEST
Grand Final: Sunday, May 12, at 7.30pm AEST
The 68th Eurovision Song Contest will air on SBS between May 8 and May 12.
