Olly Alexander joins fellow hopefuls at wild Eurovision opening bash

06 May 2024 , 12:00

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Olly Alexander joins fellow hopefuls at Eurovision bash and it's shaping up to be wildest year yet (Image: Getty Images)

Olly Alexander wowed as he posed for cameras at the very colourful opening ceremony for this year's Eurovision Song Contest.

The 33-year-old Hallucination singer, who is representing the UK at the competition taking place in Malmo, Sweden, this weekend, showed off his pearly whites as he rocked a colourful outfit. The singer and actor looked incredible in a distressed shirt dress with red, yellow, and grey stripes.

He wore black shorts underneath the outfit and added some shape to the look with a black belt. He joined a slew of Eurovision hopefuls, including Ireland's Bambie Thug, Switzerland's Nemo, Georgia's Nutsa Buzaladze, Netherlands' Joost Klein and Finland's Windows95man.

Olly is set to perform his dance-infused track Dizzy on behalf of the UK for Eurovision audiences during the first semi-final on Tuesday. However, he is already through to the final along with the other members of the "big five", France, Germany, Italy and Spain, as well as last year's winner Sweden.

Ireland's Bambie Thug had all eyes on them (TT News Agency/AFP via Getty Ima)

Nemo looked chic in a cobalt-blue gown (Getty Images)

Everyone dressed to impress for the opening ceremony, with Bambie Thug using their best model poses for the blue carpet. The star rocked a unique corseted blue, black and white dress with rips strategically placed in the train. They added to the look with pitch-black styled hair and dark lipstick.

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Speaking about Ireland's participation in the contest, they previously said: "Ireland hasn’t [got] into the final because the songs haven’t been, I guess, standing out. And ours definitely does that this year so I would be very, very encouraging riots if I wasn’t in the final.”

Switzerland's contestant, Nemo, continued the blue vibes in a floor-length cobalt blue gown with mesh panels. Nemo showed off their silver nails by placing their hands in front of their face. The 24-year-old singer completed their cosy look with light pink platform shoes.

Finland's entry Windows95Man arrived in a strange denim outfit (TT News Agency/AFP via Getty Ima)

The artist Nemo is representing Switzerland with a song called The Code in the 2024 series. The song contains a lot of genre changes but is largely a rap/operatic fusion. One ESC expert said: “The thinking is, if Nemo delivers on all those high notes and showcases all those different styles it will score very highly with the juries - but it’s hard to know what voters at home will make of it as there is no real precedent. It’s a very unique song which sits way outside the box.”

Nemo is expected to wear a tutu with trousers while performing on the big night. The countries most fancied this year alongside Switzerland are Croatia, Italy, Ukraine and the Netherlands.

Another contestant arriving at the ceremony in a unique outfit is Finland. The singer and entertainer, known as Windows95Man, had all eyes on him as he sashayed onto the carpet in a giant denim clam outfit. The star had his legs exposed to make sure everyone's focus was on the peculiar outfit choice.

Olly responded to backlash over his decision to perform at Eurovision (Getty Images)

Voice actor Henri Piispanen, who features in his Eurovision song No Rules!, joined him in the denim shell as they waved to the cameras and enjoyed their time at the opening ceremony. Olly's decision to perform at this year's Eurovision didn't come without backlash. He recently rejected calls for him to withdraw from the contest amid Israel's military bombardment in Gaza.

Olly recently opened up about making the 'hard decision' to continue with the competition, despite the many calls for Israel to be excluded the same way Russia was. He said: "A lot of the contestants and myself have been having a lot of comments that are like 'You are complicit in a genocide by taking part in Eurovision' which is quite extreme.

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"It's very extreme. I understand where that sentiment is coming from but I think it's not correct. It's an incredibly complicated political situation, one that I'm not qualified to speak on. The backdrop to this is actual immense suffering. It's a humanitarian crisis, a war. It just so happens there's a song contest going on at the same time that I'm a part of."

Zara Woodcock