Following a resplendent and highly poignant live event at the Ahoy arena in Rotterdam, Italy was named the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest this year.

With their performance of "Zitti E Buoni," Italian rock band Mneskin wowed the arena crowd as well as fans at home. The winners' Q&A with The Independent can be found here.

The 2019 contest was held tonight (May 22) in the Netherlands, with the Netherlands being declared the winners. As part of the government's ongoing initiative for the secure restart of mass-participation activities, a live audience of 3,500 people was in attendance.

Italy beat out the likes of Lithuania's The Roop, Switzerland's Gjon's Tears, France's Barbara Pravi, and the Ukrainian delegation Go A to win the competition.

The Icelandic hitmakers Dai og Gagnamagni were not in attendance this evening due to a positive coronavirus test that prevented them from performing live.

Even though a rehearsal video of the band's song "10 Days" was broadcast instead of a live performance, the track's quirkiness continued to win fans over.

James Newman, the UK delegate, gave it his best but fell short with "Embers." Despite being a good song, the dance bop – a mash-up of soul, punk, and Noughties garage – just didn't work live.

In the voting tally, the United Kingdom was the only nation to earn zero points. Newman, on the other hand, took the defeat in stride, rejoicing with his delegation upon hearing the news. Other contestants flocked to Newman's side, cheering him on.

Meanwhile, Germany surprised viewers with a genuinely bizarre performance. Jendrik, a musician, performed the upbeat song "I Don't Feel Hate" with the help of backup singers and dancers dressed in strange costumes.

Fans immediately noticed similarities between the singer and the "Thumb Thumbs" from the 2001 film Spy Kids, who were dressed in styrofoam hands.

Graham Norton, a British commentator, was not amused, deadpanning, "This is like Marmite... if everybody hated Marmite."

During the four-hour broadcast, the talk-show host made a number of snide remarks.

Norton joked about rapper Flo Rida's surprise appearance at the event, saying, "And that is Flo Rida, the multi-million selling rapper." I'm not sure why he's here.”

After being canceled last year due to the pandemic (the first time the annual contest has been canceled in its 64-year history), this year's spectacle more than made up for it – and then some.

The performances were, as expected, wacky, exuberant, and above all, hugely entertaining. Even Eurovision skeptics must admit that this year's competition was a riotous, colorful success.