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EUROVISION

‘Queen’ Loreen: Sweden basks in Eurovision glory

Sweden was celebrating Sunday after Loreen won the Eurovision song contest, the Scandinavian country's seventh title triumph, equalling Ireland's record.

'Queen' Loreen: Sweden basks in Eurovision glory
Singer Loreen performing on behalf of Sweden poses with the trophy after winning the final of the Eurovision Song contest 2023. Photo: Oli SCARFF/AFP.

Sweden was celebrating Sunday after Loreen won the Eurovision song contest, the Scandinavian country’s seventh title triumph, equalling Ireland’s record.

The Nordic country’s media was in a jubilant mood. “There is only one queen and her name is Loreen,” wrote the tabloid Expressen.

“What Loreen has achieved… is, without exaggeration, a greater feat than most of us realise,” the paper wrote, calling her title “pure perfection”.

As well as clinching Eurovision glory with “Tattoo”, a pop anthem about unconditional love, the artist, Loreen had already lifted the trophy in 2012.

She is the second artist to achieve a Eurovision double 36 years after Johnny Logan for Ireland in the 1980s, and the first woman to do so.

The Svenska Dagbladet (SVD) title said Loreen had “made history”, adding that her “participation lived up to all hopes”.

“She has not succumbed to the pressure,” the public broadcaster SVT said.

But the success of the campaign has fuelled envy, SVD reported, including a campaign by an Irish bookmaker against voting for Loreen.

“It obviously didn’t work, but the annoyance with Sweden’s success and its always-perfect numbers has been spreading in Europe for the past 10 years, and it’s not about to subside,” SVD warned.

Exactly 50 years after ABBA’s victory in Brighton, with its hit Waterloo, Sweden is now preparing to host Eurovision for the seventh time next year.

“Perfect timing,” the daily Dagens Nyheter said.

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EUROVISION

Swedish police pleased after Eurovision weekend passes peacefully

Despite concerns that tension in the run-up to Eurovision could escalate into violence, Swedish police said they were pleased with how the week went.

Swedish police pleased after Eurovision weekend passes peacefully

A total of 20 people were taken into custody by police on the final night of Eurovision in Malmö. One person was arrested and is suspected of violence against a police officer. But despite the tension during the event, police described the night as calm, all things considered.

“I’m very pleased,” police commander Per Engström said in a statement. “The event could go ahead in a safe and secure manner, while police secured the opportunity for citizens to, in a democratic spirit, express various opinions – almost completely without disturbances.”

A major pro-Palestinian demonstration on Saturday afternoon went ahead peacefully, with organisers collaborating closely with police. Thousands of people marched through Malmö, carrying pro-Palestinian symbols, and some held up signs referencing EBU’s separate decision to disqualify The Netherlands’ entry Joost Klein after he was accused of inapproppriate behaviour towards a photographer.

Things got more tense when hundreds of people also gathered outside the arena during the final, with those protesters lacking a demonstration permit.

Swedish, Norwegian and Danish police formed a human chain to push people away when they tried to get through to the area where the Eurovision audience was queuing. People who didn’t move voluntarily were carried away, with some shouting “fuck the police”, “shame on you” and “you support genocide”, according to reporters on the scene. Police said they used pepper spray on some occasions.

Nobody was seriously injured in the protests, according to police.

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