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EUROVISION

Sweden among favourites after leaping through to Eurovision final

Cornelia Jakobs, Sweden's entry to the Eurovision Song Contest, burst into tears and jumped onto presenter Mario Acampas, after shooting through to the final on Thursday night.

Sweden among favourites after leaping through to Eurovision final
Sweden’s Eurovision entry Cornelia Jakobs leaps onto the presenter after going through to the final on Thursday night. Photo: Jessica Gow/TT

Jakobs was emotional at the press conference after her victory, telling the story of her progress from an “largely unknown” indie artist to the Eurovision stage. 

“There are a lot of feelings right now in this little body, an extremely large amount of feelings that can’t really fit in, so they’re exploding,” she said, before beginning to cry. “But I’m so happy and overwhelmed by all the support I’ve got from all these fantastic countries.” 

When the time came to pick lots for which half of the final she would appear in, she leapt onto Mario Acampas, the presenter asking questions at the press conference, wrapping her legs around his waist and clasping herself tightly to his torso. 

He then walked her over to the bowl where the lots were lying. 

“I want you to choose the second half,” she said to him. “Imagine that I have a pistol here and on the count of three I’m going to shoot you if you don’t choose.”

He refused to pick for her so she took one herself and got the second half. 

Jakobs, with her song, “Hold me closer”, was the clear favourite to go into the final, and will go through alongside Finland’s The Rasmus, and his song Jezebel, Serbia’s Konstrakta with “In corpore sano”, as well as entries from Belgium, Czechia, Azerbaijan, Poland, Estonia, Australia, and Romania. 

You can see her performance on Thursday in the video below. 

In the final, she will meet the other favourites, which include Ukraine, Italy, and the United Kingdom. 

The final will be shown on Sweden’s state broadcaster SVT at 9pm on Saturday. 

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EUROVISION

Malmö to bring in reinforcements from Norway and Denmark ahead of Eurovision

The Swedish Eurovision host city Malmö on Wednesday promised heightened security for this year's song contest, which faces protests over Israel's participation during the war in Gaza.

Malmö to bring in reinforcements from Norway and Denmark ahead of Eurovision

Authorities vowed “visible” measures including police with submachine guns and reinforcements from Denmark and Norway around the event, ending with the final on May 11th.

Normally associated with rhinestones and kitsch, this year the competition has become a more controversial affair as critics have called for Israel to be banned from competing, with the war in Gaza entering its seventh month.

Sweden’s third largest city, Malmö is home to over 360,000 inhabitants spanning 186 nationalities, and a large part of the country’s population is of Palestinian origin.

At least half a dozen applications have been filed for demonstration permits to protest the Israeli presence at the competition, which is organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) together with Sweden’s public broadcaster SVT.

City authorities say the situation is under control.

“For the various events linked to Eurovision, security measures will be clearly visible,” the city’s security director, Per-Erik Ebbestahl, told a press conference.

Security checks will be stepped up, in particular for access to the various sites, where bags will mostly be prohibited, he said.

The police presence will also be strengthened, with reinforcements coming from Norway and Denmark, and officers will be more heavily armed than normal.

“There will be a lot of police in Malmö this time, with their usual armament, but also with heavier weapons” including submachine guns, said Petra Stenkula, chief of Malmö police.

“We are not used to seeing them in Sweden and Malmö,” Stenkula said.

The executive producer of the event for SVT, Ebba Adielsson, told AFP the security plan was “extremely stable”.

“Now what scares me the most is that people are too afraid” to participate in the event, she continued.

More than 100,000 visitors are expected to come to Malmö in the week leading up to the event.

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