Before things got going last night, it was time for the (nobody really cares about) Marcel Bezençon Awards.
Invented in 2022 as a way to make people who don’t go on to win feel a bit better about how things turn out. 2002, they are named after the creator of the Eurovision Song Contest.
The awards were handed out in the Delegation Lounge just prior to Saturday night’s show by Christer Björkman, former Swedish Head of Delegation, 1992 Eurovision Song Contest participant, and the Executive Producer of the American Song Contest (RIP/on-hiatus).
The Artistic Award – for the best artistic performance as voted for by the commentators from each participating broadcaster, went to eventual overall champion Loreen. It is the first time The Artistic Award has gone to the same act twice. Loreen won the Award in 2012, for Euphoria, also for Sweden. She also picked up the Press Award – voted on by the accredited members of the media.
The Composer Award, which is voted on by all of the participating composers was presented to Marco Mengoni, Davide Petrella and Davide Simonetta, for the song Due Vite, representing Italy.