Eurovision failed to support us amid rows, winner says

Eurovision winner Nemo has said the song contest's organisers didn't do enough to support participants who were caught up in a row over Israel's inclusion in this year's show.

"I felt very alone," the Swiss singer, 25, told BBC News. "I really hope they have things in place for the next year."

Nemo, who has just released their first single since winning the contest in May, added that the event had "in a way" been overshadowed by the political controversy.

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which runs Eurovision, said it had introduced changes that would provide "more clarity and protection" for artists at future contests.

In the build-up to this year's Eurovision, there were calls for Israel to be banned from the competition over the country's military action in Gaza, and pro-Palestinian protests on the streets of Swedish host city Malmö.

Some contestants, including Nemo, came under pressure to boycott the show, while Israel's entrant Eden Golan reportedly faced death threats.

Nemo, who is non-binary and uses they/them pronouns, has since got a record deal and was speaking to BBC News after their new track, Eurostar, was released.

Reflecting on their experiences during Eurovision, Nemo described the atmosphere backstage as "quite tense".

"There were situations that are still being investigated by the EBU," they said.

"They told us they would get back to us and they haven't yet. It's a shame that the EBU takes so long in my honest opinion."

When asked if the organisers did enough to support contestants at the time, they paused before answering.

"No. I don't think so," they said. "Because I sometimes felt very alone with a lot of things, or at least with the other artists, and it took long for them to get back to artists when they wrote to them."

With global politics remaining febrile, Nemo added: "I really hope they have things in place for the next year to make sure that part of the whole contest, especially mentally, gets taken care of.

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"Because I did feel alone and I know that some other artists were also feeling that way."

In a statement, the EBU said it was "very mindful" of the experiences of several artists at this year's contest.

"The process of dealing internally with individual incidents is ongoing and we are determined to ensure all rules are applied fairly and consistently," it said.

It said an independent consultation had resulted in recommendations, including developing a duty of care protocol for people participating in the contest.

"We believe these will help address many of the issues in Malmö and help everyone, no matter their role, to have a positive and safe experience at the Eurovision Song Contest."