"We just want to say, to the whole of Europe, to the whole world, rock 'n' roll never dies," Maneskin's frontman Damiano David has said after winning.
Lots of sequins, pyrotechnics and supersonic belting: Some aspects of the Eurovision Song Contest are reliably predictable each year, perhaps even formulaic. After all, the event is the world's largest non-sporting TV event, drawing millions of TV viewers annually, and requires a certain amount of pomp and circumstance to succeed in keeping people from Reykjavik to Sydney tied to their screens each year.
Inclusion was meanwhile a big theme at the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest this year. While the motto of this edition of the competition "Open Up" was primarily a reference to the world beginning to return to a sense of normal by gradually reopening events and businesses, there was a lot of opening up to new ideas in general — not just in the music.
Hosting nation the Netherlands was represented by singer Jeangu Macrooy from Suriname with a soulful rendition of his song "Birth Of A New Age," which was performed in multiple languages — including Sranan Tongo, the English-based Creole language spoken in his native country.
Norway sent singer TIX to deliver his song "Fallen Angel." TIX has Tourette’s Syndrome and is also a recognized mental health advocate in his home country.
Much of the fashion seen on stage this year also reflected that sense of opening up to progress, featuring bold gender-nonconforming elements that brought home the message of inclusion and diversity that Eurovision has always stood for.
Maneskin's frontman rocked not only with his performance on stage but also showed off a lot of skin with an outfit that represents the kind of gender fluidity that is associated with burlesque and cabaret.
Sweden sent singer Tusse with his song “Voices” into the race, whose bright red outfit was complemented by his elegant elbow-length finger gloves.
Germany's Jendrik stuck it to all the haters by singing "I don’t feel hate" while featuring a lot of rainbow references in his branding and staging, while 22-year-old performer Gjon's Tears from Switzerland donned a dark chiffon shirt with silver patterns throughout, bedazzling audiences as much with his outfit as he did with his outstanding falsetto voice in his mesmerizing ballad "Tout l'Univers."