in a competition under tension due to the international context, Slimane aims for the place of “pride”

Eurovision 2024, the final of which takes place on Saturday evening and where Slimane represents France, is hit hard by geopolitics.

Eurovision, D-Day. The grand final takes place on Saturday May 11 in the evening in Malmö, Sweden. Slimane defends the colors of France with his song My love. But this 68th edition of the largest song competition in the world is very unique, punctuated by tensions linked to the presence of Israel, calls for boycott are multiplying and a new pro-Palestinian demonstration is announced in the afternoon in the host city. In this already difficult context, the competition organizers must manage an additional problem : one of the favorites, the Dutch candidate, Joost Klein, was deprived of a dress rehearsal on Friday, the day before the final because of an “incident” which remains to be clarified.

Eurovision is on edge and even the artists are coming to say stop in their own way. At the press center, Italian candidate Angelina Mango delivers a message of appeasement in song, with Conceived by John Lennon. In front of the Arena where the competition takes place, the eurofans deliver their verdict: “It was much better last year in Liverpool. We were really united by the music. But this year, the slogan [“United by music] doesn’t work too well.”

Eurofans determined to take advantage

So the Eurofans turn a blind eye, they cling to their frills and their sequined jackets, determined to enjoy it, despite everything. In front of the Malmö Arena, they sway their hips and give voice to the title of Baby Lasagna Rim Tim Tagi Sun. The Croatian is the darling of the public if we are to believe the bookmakers who have placed him in the lead for several weeks.

But often in the crowd there also resonates a little French air : Slimane’s song, My love, hummed by a Spanish Eurofan who loves the French representative’s song. She likes “his voice, his power”, et in particular the moment in the scenography where Slimane moves three meters away from the microphone for a particularly striking a cappella passage : “It gives me goosebumps, emotion.” She sees Slimane finishing in the Top 5, see Top 3.

“I want the French to be proud”

A few minutes before going on stage, Slimane confides: “II aim for the place of pride, I want to be proud of myself, I want the people with whom I worked on this service to be proud, for the French to be proud”. The singer will not comment on the context surrounding Eurovision, but he, who defends a love song, wants love to be the main value of the competition : “There is only love that allows us to do great things, that allows us to change things, to make things happen, that also allows the impossible”. During the Eurovision final, Slimane will sing in 25th position ahead of more than 150 million viewers. He will be the penultimate to present himself, hoping to dislodge Marie Myriam. France has been waiting for 47 years.