A post shared by olly alexander (@ollyalexanderr)
This year protesters have called for a boycott of Eurovision over Israel’s inclusion in the contest amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
During the grand final the country’s entry, Eden Golan, performed her song Hurricane to audible boos and cheers in the arena.
Irish TV presenter Norton described the crowd as having a “mixed reaction”.
He added: “In some of the open rehearsals we heard more booing, but there was quite a lot of cheering tonight as well and I should tell you that that song is tipped to do very well tonight.”
Elsewhere the UK’s entry for the contest, Years & Years singer Olly Alexander, took to the stage in a high-octane performance of his song Dizzy.
In response, actress Hannah Waddingham, who co-hosted the contest last year when it took place in Liverpool, posted to X, formerly Twitter: “Come on Olly Alexander!!! Let’s do this!!!!!!”
COME ON OLLY ALEXANDER!!! LET’S DO THIS!!!!!! 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧@bbceurovision pic.twitter.com/PCi1mG4s1k
— Hannah Waddingham. (@hanwaddingham) May 11, 2024
Alexander, 33, later shared a video to his Instagram stories which appeared to show him crying following his performance.
He also posted a clip of the Eurovision hopefuls dancing backstage and said: “Malmo, I love you.”
