Sweden’s Crown Princess Victoria introduced the telecast, in a segment pre-filmed at Stockholm Palace, and then watched in person from the royal box at Malmo Arena.

And for the most part, it ran smoothly, including a segment marking the 50th anniversary of ABBA’s Eurovision win with Waterloo.

The original band members – Agnetha Faltskog, Benny Andersson, Bjorn Ulvaeus and Anni-Frid Lyngstad – spoke in a pre-filmed segment featuring the band’s virtual “ABBA-tars”. Former Eurovision winners Carola, Charlotte Perrelli and Conchita Wurst performed Waterloo live.

“I remember the UK jury and what they thought about us; they gave us zero points,” Ulvaeus said. Waterloo became a No.1 hit in the UK. “Thank you for still having faith in us,” Lyngstad said.

The show delivered some stunning performances, notably Croatia’s Baby Lasagna, Ireland’s Bambie Thug, Spain’s Nebulossa and Finland’s Windows95man.

The last of those – the stage name of Finnish visual artist Teemu Keisteri – was pure Eurovision, blending pyrotechnics, a catchy tune, narrative humour and a dash of stage nudity. How could it fail? (It did; Finland came in 19th place with just 38 points.)

In host city Malmo, in Sweden’s south, the grand final capped off a week of unpredictable twists and turns, and simmering geopolitical tensions, where small aggressions seemed to give way to bigger ones.

At a media conference earlier in the week, Joost Klein of the Netherlands objected when the moderator attempted to move past a question put to Israeli singer Eden Golan about the security risks involved with her participation.

Just hours before the live final, the score announcers for Finland and the Netherlands quit. And when the TV cameras crossed to the contest’s executive supervisor Martin Osterdahl, he was met with a chorus of booing from the audience.

A live cross to Israel for that country’s scores was also met with boos.

During the live grand final telecast, however, several performers used the stage as a platform to send messages of peace.

Bambie Thug screamed “love will always triumph hate”; Portugal’s Iolanda said “peace will prevail”; and France’s Slimane finished his song saying, “united by music for love and peace”.

The fallout from the week’s biggest shock – the eleventh hour expulsion of Klein – will be felt for some time.

The Dutch broadcaster Avrotros has already challenged the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), saying Klein’s punishment was “heavy and disproportionate”.

Klein was removed after Swedish police were called in response to a complaint made by a member of the production crew. “While the legal process takes its course, it would not be appropriate for him to continue in the contest,” the EBU statement said.

It was later reported Klein had reacted aggressively to being filmed without his permission by a member of the production crew; in retaliation he had made a “threatening movement” towards the camera operator but did not touch anyone.

The Dutch broadcaster confirmed it was contractually obligated to air Eurovision, whether Klein participated or not.

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Broadly, this has been a Eurovision Song Contest that the EBU will not be rushing to remember, but few people will be able to forget. Tanks driving down city streets and snipers on nearby rooftops are not the visual memories anyone would expect to have when Eurovision is mentioned.

The crowds of fans seemed outnumbered by crowds of protesters, who took to the streets of Malmo to voice their objection to Israel’s inclusion in the contest, following the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

Feather boas? Sequins? Fireworks? They felt in short supply. A Eurovision host city is typically an inclusive and carefree space, yet the heavy security cordon around Malmo, intended to soothe anxieties, instead just seemed to amplify the collective sense of unease.

The Eurovision grand final will be replayed on SBS at 7.30pm on Sunday.