Eurovision winner JJ says he hopes next year's contest will take place without Israel
'It's very disappointing… I would like Eurovision to be held in Vienna next year, without Israel. But the ball is in the EBU's court. We, the artists, can only speak out on the matter,' said the Austrian artist to Spanish newspaper El País.
The 24-year-old singer, whose real name is Johannes Pietsch, claimed victory at the song contest with the song 'Wasted Love.'
In a tightly contested final, Pietsch finished just ahead of Israel's Yuval Raphael, a survivor of the October 7 attacks. Her song 'New Day Will Rise' received the most public votes.
'There should be greater transparency regarding the [public vote]. This year, everything was very strange about it,' said Pietsch. His remarks echo growing concern among several national broadcasters.
Spain's national broadcaster RTVE has requested a full audit of the voting system, with Ireland and Finland also expressing support for a review. Belgium's VRT has threatened to withdraw from the contest if concerns go unaddressed.
The director of Eurovision, Martin Green, made a statement this week calling the contest's voting system 'the most advanced in the world'.
Pietsch, who is queer, also told El Pas he attempted to bring an LGBTQ+ flag on stage during his final performance, but 'the organisers caught [him] at the last minute.'
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Extra.ie
10 hours ago
- Extra.ie
Heartbroken Rute Cardoso clings to family as she bids farewell to husband Diogo Jota
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The Irish Sun
a day ago
- The Irish Sun
I went on the bucket-list Intrepid tour with world-famous beaches, legendary football and 80p cocktails
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Outside of New York City I found vineyards, breweries and a race track They needn't be so cagey in Iguazu, with the sprawling stretch of jungle that saddles the border between the two countries packed with a gloriously diverse wealth of creatures. Toucans and parrots flew overhead, capybaras relaxed in the cooling waters of the Iguazu River and mischievous coati, a relative of the raccoon, flocked to picnic areas to fight over tourists' dropped scraps. Advertisement All of this, and so much more, plays out in front of the most awe-inspiring backdrop, the falls, which were officially declared one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature in 2011. 'Thrilling ambience' Rickety walkways offer vantage points to view most of the landmark's astounding angles, although guests can also take helicopter rides overhead, as well as a boat ride that is slightly more extreme than its name suggests. 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South American fans are considered to be among the more rambunctious, so, keen to see what all the fuss was about, I got myself a ticket, with Intrepid's tours including matches as an optional extra. Advertisement The streets surrounding the 78,000-seat arena were bursting with life from as much as two hours before kick-off, with barbecues, beer and, of course, caipirinhas all on offer, as Flamengo fans in their Dennis The Menace-esque black and red home shirts made their way to the ground. Once inside the legendary stadium, the noise and atmosphere only intensified, with samba beats being beaten loudly from drums, while pyrotechnics and giant flags enhanced the thrilling ambience. I did my best to sing along with the home fans, despite not knowing any Portuguese, and by the end I felt like an honorary member of their troop as we roared on Flamengo to a hard-fought 1-0 win. Then, as the fans filtered out afterwards, singing and dancing into the night, I ordered a final caipirinha and already began to feel a profound sense of longing for this truly magnificent part of the world before I'd even started packing for my flight home the next morning. Advertisement Luckily, with trips like Intrepid's highlights tour, it's easy enough to plan another visit for the not-too-distant future. I just need to make sure I take a few tango lessons beforehand, so I can sweep Milandra off her feet next time, instead of almost standing all over them. 8 The tango is so culturally important to Argentina Credit: Getty 8 Enjoy a kickabout at the Maracanã, Brazil Credit: Getty Advertisement 8 There is a constant flow of vendors serving refreshing caipirinhas Credit: Getty 8 A macaw at Iguazu falls Credit: Getty GO: South America Tour GETTING THERE: Air Europa flies from the UK to Buenos Aires in Argentina from £636 return. 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The Irish Sun
a day ago
- The Irish Sun
Diogo Jota's loving relationship with ‘number one fan' Rute Cardoso from meeting at school to heartbreaking wedding post
TOGETHER since their teens, Diogo Jota and new wife Rute Cardoso chased a footballing dream. When his burgeoning career in their native Portugal resulted in a move to Spanish giants Atletico Madrid, she described herself as his 'best friend' and 'number one fan'. Advertisement 6 Diogo Jota and Rute Cardoso married on June 22 Credit: Not known, clear with picture desk 6 The couple were together for 13 years 6 They were joined at the ceremony by their three children 6 Rute supported Jota from an early age Credit: Instagram 6 Their youngest child was born in December Credit: Instagram 6 The pair were childhood sweethearts Credit: Instagram It was a shared ambition that would take them back to home town club Porto and then Wolverhampton Wanderers before his trophy-laden glory years at Liverpool's Anfield. A couple who met at school aged 13, their marriage a mere 11 days ago sealed a romance that had already produced three cherubic children. Joyous wedding photographs, showing a young family on life's great journey, are now heartbreaking to look at. Sons Dinis, four, and Duarte, two, are in the same dark blue jackets, cream waistcoats and blue ties as their footballer father. A baby girl, not named publicly, wears a miniature tiara and ivory-coloured gown to match her mother. Advertisement READ MORE ON DIOGO JOTA Now Ruta is a widow at 28. The children Just 20 hours earlier, Diogo and Rute Under one photo, she wrote, 'My dream came true' — to which Diogo had replied: 'But I'm the lucky one.' Social media images show family life including trips to Lapland and Sardinia, photos with pet beagles and in red strips of Liverpool on the pitch at Anfield and at Wembley. Advertisement Most read in Football Exclusive It was a love forged in Portugal's beautiful second city Porto where forward Jota was born in December 1996. His birth name was Diogo José Teixeira da Silva. As a promising, pacey young footballer he dropped his surname and used Jota which is the local pronunciation of 'J'. 'Heartbroken' Ronaldo leads tributes to Diogo Jota as football mourns Liverpool & Portugal star Soon, his talents outgrew his local club Gondomar and, aged 16, he moved to lower league club Pacos de Ferreira. Scout Ivo Rodrigues remembers watching Diogo in 2013. Advertisement He said: 'My eyes were drawn to him like a magnet. He was the youngest on the pitch but I saw he was going to be a star. He could do things that other ones could not.' But attempts by Ivo to sign him for Guimaraes proved fruitless. The year before, an Instagram image showed him with Rute in hoodies and jeans acting like typical teenagers. In 2015, Jota's career might have stalled before it really began. Pre-season tests revealed a heart problem. Advertisement Showing maturity beyond his years, he wrote: 'I knew it could mean quitting football, but I didn't believe for a second it was going to happen.' A natural goalscorer, he would earn selection for Portugal's international youth teams and soon the big time beckoned. He was snapped up by Spanish giants Atletico Madrid in 2016 when he was 19. Rute wrote of his move: 'I'm anxious. Diogo only left this week, but I already miss him. We've been dating for four years and . . . it makes sense to follow him. In addition to being his girlfriend and best friend, I'm his number one fan, I want to be there.' Advertisement However, Diogo would never play for the Atletico first team and a month after joining went out on loan to Portuguese giants Porto. At the time, his brother Andre Silva, 25 — also killed in yesterday's fireball crash — was with Porto's youth set-up. Scoring eight goals in 27 appearances, Diogo's performances earned him another loan move the next season — this time to England with Wolves, then in the Championship. His 17 league goals helped Wolves win promotion to the Premier League and secured a permanent move for a reported £12million. Advertisement Wolves finished seventh the next season as they qualified for the Europa League — a competition in which Diogo bagged an 11-minute hat-trick against Turkish side Besiktas after coming on as a sub. In now poignant comments, he said after that game: 'It makes me proud. It's a story to tell my grandkids when I get old.' He and Rute were able to enjoy the fruits of his success. Instagram photos she posted show her posing on his shoulders at Disneyland Paris and sight-seeing at the London Eye. Captioning an image of them together on a sun-kissed beach in the Maldives, she wrote: 'And suddenly you see your entire future in one person.' Advertisement In September 2020, Liverpool snapped Diogo up for £45million. He and Rute had made it to one of world football's greatest clubs in the richest and most glamorous league. Then-Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said of Diogo: 'He has the speed, he can combine with other players, can defend, can press. It gives us real options for different systems. 'He's 23, still far away from being kind of a finished article — he has so much potential.' A player blessed with the knack of scoring vital goals, he soon became a Kop favourite. Advertisement A terrace chant for him, including a reference to Portuguese great Luis Figo, went: 'He's a lad from Portugal, better than Figo don't you know, oh his name is Diogo!' In the 2021-22 season, he scored 21 in 55 games — part of an impressive 65 goals in 182 appearances for Liverpool. Hampered by injuries last season, his final goal for In the Merseyside derby, he slalomed past Everton defenders in a packed box before slotting the ball home. His final match was for Portugal — his 49th cap — a victory over Spain to win the Uefa Nations League. Advertisement The close season gave him a chance to marry Rute. Beneath a photo of the elegant couple at the altar, the new bride wrote on social media: 'Yes to forever.' Diogo once described himself as 'a small guy that came from Gondomar, where I had this dream'. With Rute at his side, he perhaps achieved more than he possibly imagined. Advertisement A tragedy that, at 28, this supremely talented player and dearly loved husband and dad had so much more to give.
