Inside Eurovision drama from banned act to 'emotional' Olly Alexander and angry booing

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Molly Ringwald appeared on Marc Maron’s “WTF” podcast (via People magazine) and revealed that she’s tried to convince her 20-year-old daughter not to become an actor because of how difficult it is for young women in Hollywood. Ringwald, an icon of 1980s teen movies thanks to roles in “The Breakfast Club,” “Pretty in Pink” and more, said she was taken advantage of as a young actor — and that it’s nearly impossible not to be as a woman growing up in Hollywood. “I never really felt like I was part of a community when I was in Hollywood, just because I was so young, really,” Ringwald said.

Eurovision 2024 nearly pulled out of the song contest, just 25 minutes before the live final.The grand final of the competition took place in Malmö, Sweden – the home of 2023 winner Loreen – on Saturday May 11. However, the show was mired by widespread political backlash over the inclusion of Israel amid the Hamas-Israel conflict.Many of the contestants, including Ireland’s Bambie Thug and UK representative Olly Alexander, faced pressure to boycott the event in solidarity with Palestine.

Olly Alexander confirmed that he is now performing under his own name during his performance at Radio 1’s Big Weekend.Alexander broke out in music as the frontman of Years & Years alongside Mikey Goldsworthy & Emre Türkmen. They released two albums together, 2015’s ‘Communion’ and 2018’s ‘Palo Santo’, spawning hits such as ‘King’ and ‘Shine’.

Eurovision 2024 broke global viewing figures despite protests over the inclusion of Israel at this year’s event.According to figures from the EBU, 163 million viewers tuned into the three live events including the Grand Final.The total reach of the contest also increased by one million people compared to 2023 and has grown by two million since 2022’s event in Turin.The viewing share for the Grand Final was also 46.7 per cent – the highest since 2006 and almost triple the broadcast channels average (17.6 per cent).Germany recorded the highest audience for the Grand Final with an average of 8.1million viewers watching on Das Erste and ONE. The United Kingdom also had the second highest audience with 7.7 million viewers tuning in for the Grand Final on BBC One despite viewing figures being down compared to last year’s event in Liverpool.Online, the Eurovision Song Contest’s digital platforms had another record year with 486million unique accounts reached on TikTok, during the event weeks, more than four times as many as that in 2023.Up to 42million unique viewers across 231 countries and territories also watched content on the official YouTube channel during the week of the live shows.Speaking about the record results across the board, Jean Philip De Tender, EBU Deputy Director General said: “These incredible numbers show the Eurovision Song Contest’s huge global impact – online, on TV and importantly musically.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Anya Taylor-Joy said an interview with British GQ that she has often fought for her characters to express rage on screen. It turns out there have been several films where in the script her character is supposed to cry, but Taylor-Joy just didn’t think that was the right emotional beat. She decided to speak up for herself and successfully convinced her directors to let her character have more rage.

Olly Alexander has expressed his gratitude after competing in Eurovision 2024, saying that receiving zero public points was “iconic”.The Years & Years frontman represented the UK with his song ‘Dizzy’ at this year’s competition, which took place in Malmö, Sweden. He finished 18th out of 25 countries – earning 46 points from the jury, but none from the voting public.Nemo clinched victory for Switzerland at Eurovision 2024 with their track ‘The Code’.

Olly Alexander‘s dad has said he was “surprised” that his son’s song ‘Dizzy’ received the dreaded ‘nul points’ from the public at last night’s Eurovision.Despite high hopes for this year’s UK entry, Alexander finished in 18th place out of 25 countries with 46 points, a position he only achieved thanks to his jury score.Now, his dad David Thornton has shared his thoughts, saying that Eurovision still offered a “fantastic learning experience” for Alexander [via BBC].“I enjoyed every minute of it,” said Thornton. “To me it’s a real surprise the public didn’t sort of connect with that song, though the juries gave it a really good score.”He added: “He’s had a wonderful time out there.

K.J. Yossman Switzerland has won the Eurovision Song Contest. Swiss entry Nemo stormed the contest with the song “The Code,” walking away with 591 points — a combination of a jury vote and public vote.

Eurovision enthusiasts were left scratching their heads after Olly Alexander's performance at the competition, as something seemed amiss. During the live broadcast of Eurovision 2024 on Saturday night, viewers watched Olly Alexander take to the stage, hoping to clinch the title.

The 68th Eurovision Song Contest is finally here, with another set of musical hopefuls eager to represent their countries and impress both the judges and the public.

The wait is almost over for this year’s Eurovision Song Contest and performers from across the globe are getting ready to battle it out to be crowned winners of one of the world’s most famous singing competitions. With the UK last winning the competition back in 1997, though Sam Ryder came close in 2022, all hopes of taking home the crown are on this year’s entry Olly Alexander, who recently divided fans when he made his Eurovision debut earlier this week with a performance of his song Dizzy.

Fans of Eurovision will already know that Olly Alexander is set to represent the United Kingdom at the 68th song contest in Malmö this month. Olly revealed the news during the Grand Final of BBC One’s Strictly Come Dancing on Saturday, December 16, 2023.

The lives of Eurovision hosts are often seen as glamorous and enviable, but behind the glitz and excitement on the stage, many have experienced their fair share of ups and downs in their personal relationships. From shocking splits to fuming exes and enduring relationships, these hosts have experienced it all.

It's nearly that time again for the Eurovision grand finale to appear on our small screens.

Eurovision is set to take place tonight (May 11) – check out the full running order and list of contestants below.Altogether, 37 countries entered the contest and were split in half to compete for a place in the finals across two semi finals on Tuesday (May 7) and Thursday (May 9). Tonight, 26 of them will perform in the final, with Big Five nations France, Spain, Germany, Italy, the UK and the host nation Sweden all going straight through.Representing the UK this year is Olly Alexander, who will be performing his song ‘Dizzy’ which has been compared to the likes of the Pet Shop Boys’ ‘It’s A Sin’.According to Eurovision World, the favourites to win the competition is Croatia, whose entry Baby Lasagna currently has a 42 per cent chance at snagging the crown this year with their song ‘Rim Tim Tagi Dim’.The full running order for Eurovision 2024 is:1. Sweden | Marcus & Martinus – ‘Unforgettable’2. Ukraine | alyona alyona & Jerry Heil – ‘Teresa & Maria’3. Germany | ISAAK – ‘Always On The Run’4. Luxembourg | TALI – ‘Fighter’5. Netherlands | Joost Klein – ‘Europapa’6. Israel | Eden Golan – ‘Hurricane’7. Lithuania | Silvester Belt – ‘Luktelk’8. Spain | Nebulossa – ‘ZORRA’9. Estonia | 5MIINUST x Puuluup – ‘(nendest) narkootikumidest ei tea me (küll) midagi’10. Ireland | Bambie Thug – ‘Doomsday Blue’11. Latvia | Dons – ‘Hollow’12. Greece | Marina Satti – ‘ZARI’13. United Kingdom | Olly Alexander – ‘Dizzy’14. Norway | Gåte – ‘Ulveham’15. Italy | Angelina Mango – ‘La Noia’16. Serbia | TEYA DORA – ‘RAMONDA’17. Finland | Windows95man – ‘No Rules!’18. Portugal | iolanda – ‘Grito’19. Armenia | LADANIVA – ‘Jako’20. Cyprus | Silia Kapsis – ‘Liar’21. Switzerland | Nemo – ‘The Code’22. Slovenia | Raiven – ‘Veronika’23. Croatia | Baby

Olly Alexander has responded to his odds of winning the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest.The singer revealed to BBC that he had taken a look at what the bookies were saying about his chances of winning the contest. “My odds for winning are at one per cent,” he told the outlet.

Sue Perkins, one half of the comedy duo Mel and Sue with Mel Giedroyc, is currently on our screens as the host of Channel 4's Double The Money where she oversees two teams attempt to double £500 in just three days. With contestants unable to use the same money-making tactic twice, the show sees some rather unique attempts to make some extra cash as they work to make as much extra money as possible. But over the years, Sue has appeared in a variety of shows including Celebrity Big Brother, Celebrity Weakest Link and The Great British Bake Off, which she co-hosted with her comedy partner Mel.

Eurovision entry Bambie Thug has shared an eerie cover of The Cranberries’ ‘Zombie’ and spoken out in support of Palestine ahead of this weekend’s finale.The non-binary singer will be representing Ireland at the final of the song contest in Malmö, Sweden, and has become Ireland’s first finalist since 2018. They won their place in Saturday’s final (May 11) with a performance of ‘Doomsday Blue’ at Tuesday’s (May 7) semi-finals.They have been listed as in the top 10 favourites to win the competition this year, and told NME that they are hoping to “give the best performance I can and try to connect in those three minutes to those millions of viewers”.That being said, there has been pressure on contestants, including Thug and UK representative Olly Alexander, to boycott the event in solidarity with Palestine.

ITV's This Morning had a bit of a bumpy start on Wednesday when presenter Ben Shephard teased Cat Deeley live on air, accusing her of dressing like a dancer from Eurovision. Prior to the exchange, Lorraine Kelly had conducted an interview with Eurovision Song Contest UK entry Olly Alexander.

Speculation is building over whether ABBA will take to the stage at the Eurovision Song Contest later this week.This year marks the 50th anniversary of Sweden having won the contest for the first time back in 1974, when the country was represented by ABBA and the event was hosted by the UK in Brighton. Now, rumours have been circulating that the iconic band could reunite for the contest on Saturday, 11 May – where Olly Alexander will represent the UK with his song, Dizzy, despite dividing audiences during the semi-finals this week.