Sauna-loving Swedes gather steam for Eurovision final
Competition has kicked off in the 69th Eurovision Song Contest with sauna-loving Swedish entry KAJ gaining a place in the final and five countries going home after the first of two semi-finals in the pan-continental music extravaganza.
Performers from 15 countries battled it out in front of thousands of fans in Basel, Switzerland for 10 spots in Saturday's final, with the result decided by viewers' votes.
Betting market favourites KAJ, a trio of Swedish-speaking Finns, performed Bara Bada Bastu, a catchy ode to steam and heat whose title translates roughly as "just take a sauna", accompanied by dancers dressed as lumberjacks and clad in towels.
Joining KAJ in the final is another favourite with oddsmakers, 21-year-old Dutch singer Claude with soulful, Parisian-style ballad C'est La Vie. Claude hopes to win for his country after the Netherlands' 2024 contestant, Joost Klein, was kicked out of Eurovision over a backstage altercation.
Others voted into the final include Icelandic brother duo VAEB with a rap song about rowing, Róa, Norwegian singer Kyle Alessandro's Lighter and two uber-Italian songs that aren't from Italy: DJ Gabry Ponte, representing San Marino with the upbeat Tutta L'Italia and the highly caffeinated Espresso Macchiato by Estonia's Tommy Cash.
Ukraine, Portugal, Poland and Albania also made the final. Azerbaijan, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus and Slovenia were eliminated.
Music fans across Europe and beyond have travelled to the northern Swiss city of Basel, which is hosting Eurovision because Swiss singer Nemo won last year's contest in Sweden.
Canadian chanteuse Celine Dion, who won Eurovision for Switzerland before she became a mega-star, sent a video message that was played before some of last year's competitors performed her 1988 contest-winning song, Ne partez pas sans moi.
Viewers were also entertained with a comic song performed by hosts Hazel Brugger and Sandra Studer celebrating Swiss inventions including the Swiss Army knife, muesli, processed cheese - and Eurovision, first staged in Lausanne in 1956.
Tuesday's showdown and a second semi-final on Thursday will narrow the field of 37 nations down to 26 who will compete in Saturday's grand final. Twenty finalists will be decided by viewers' votes, while six countries automatically qualify for the final: the host, Switzerland, and the "Big Five" who pay the most to the contest - France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK.
Flying the flag for Australia is singer-songwriter Marty Zambotto, better known by his stage name Go-Jo, who will perform Milkshake Man in Thursday's semi-final (on Friday, Australian time).
Eurovision was founded partly to foster unity on a continent scarred by World War II, and its motto is United by Music. But political divisions often cloud the contest, despite organisers' efforts to keep politics out.
Officials say more than 1000 police officers are on duty in Basel this week, and organisers are expecting protests against Israel's participation because of the country's conduct of its war against Hamas in Gaza.
A demonstration against anti-Semitism is also planned on Thursday, the day Israeli singer Yuval Raphael performs in the second semi-final.
Raphael is a survivor of Hamas militants' October 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel that killed 1200 people. More than 52,800 people in Gaza have been killed in Israel's retaliatory offensive, according to the territory's health ministry.
Following tensions over Israel's participation and Klein's expulsion in 2024, the European Broadcasting Union that organises Eurovision has tightened the contest's code of conduct, calling on participants to respect Eurovision's values of "universality, diversity, equality and inclusivity" and its political neutrality.
Audience members will be allowed to wave Palestinian flags inside Basel's St Jakobshalle arena, after a contentious ban last year. Participants, however, can only wave their own national flag onstage or in other on-camera areas. Some delegations have protested that effectively bans LGBTQI pride flags from an event with a huge gay following.
Competition has kicked off in the 69th Eurovision Song Contest with sauna-loving Swedish entry KAJ gaining a place in the final and five countries going home after the first of two semi-finals in the pan-continental music extravaganza.
Performers from 15 countries battled it out in front of thousands of fans in Basel, Switzerland for 10 spots in Saturday's final, with the result decided by viewers' votes.
Betting market favourites KAJ, a trio of Swedish-speaking Finns, performed Bara Bada Bastu, a catchy ode to steam and heat whose title translates roughly as "just take a sauna", accompanied by dancers dressed as lumberjacks and clad in towels.
Joining KAJ in the final is another favourite with oddsmakers, 21-year-old Dutch singer Claude with soulful, Parisian-style ballad C'est La Vie. Claude hopes to win for his country after the Netherlands' 2024 contestant, Joost Klein, was kicked out of Eurovision over a backstage altercation.
Others voted into the final include Icelandic brother duo VAEB with a rap song about rowing, Róa, Norwegian singer Kyle Alessandro's Lighter and two uber-Italian songs that aren't from Italy: DJ Gabry Ponte, representing San Marino with the upbeat Tutta L'Italia and the highly caffeinated Espresso Macchiato by Estonia's Tommy Cash.
Ukraine, Portugal, Poland and Albania also made the final. Azerbaijan, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus and Slovenia were eliminated.
Music fans across Europe and beyond have travelled to the northern Swiss city of Basel, which is hosting Eurovision because Swiss singer Nemo won last year's contest in Sweden.
Canadian chanteuse Celine Dion, who won Eurovision for Switzerland before she became a mega-star, sent a video message that was played before some of last year's competitors performed her 1988 contest-winning song, Ne partez pas sans moi.
Viewers were also entertained with a comic song performed by hosts Hazel Brugger and Sandra Studer celebrating Swiss inventions including the Swiss Army knife, muesli, processed cheese - and Eurovision, first staged in Lausanne in 1956.
Tuesday's showdown and a second semi-final on Thursday will narrow the field of 37 nations down to 26 who will compete in Saturday's grand final. Twenty finalists will be decided by viewers' votes, while six countries automatically qualify for the final: the host, Switzerland, and the "Big Five" who pay the most to the contest - France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK.
Flying the flag for Australia is singer-songwriter Marty Zambotto, better known by his stage name Go-Jo, who will perform Milkshake Man in Thursday's semi-final (on Friday, Australian time).
Eurovision was founded partly to foster unity on a continent scarred by World War II, and its motto is United by Music. But political divisions often cloud the contest, despite organisers' efforts to keep politics out.
Officials say more than 1000 police officers are on duty in Basel this week, and organisers are expecting protests against Israel's participation because of the country's conduct of its war against Hamas in Gaza.
A demonstration against anti-Semitism is also planned on Thursday, the day Israeli singer Yuval Raphael performs in the second semi-final.
Raphael is a survivor of Hamas militants' October 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel that killed 1200 people. More than 52,800 people in Gaza have been killed in Israel's retaliatory offensive, according to the territory's health ministry.
Following tensions over Israel's participation and Klein's expulsion in 2024, the European Broadcasting Union that organises Eurovision has tightened the contest's code of conduct, calling on participants to respect Eurovision's values of "universality, diversity, equality and inclusivity" and its political neutrality.
Audience members will be allowed to wave Palestinian flags inside Basel's St Jakobshalle arena, after a contentious ban last year. Participants, however, can only wave their own national flag onstage or in other on-camera areas. Some delegations have protested that effectively bans LGBTQI pride flags from an event with a huge gay following.
Competition has kicked off in the 69th Eurovision Song Contest with sauna-loving Swedish entry KAJ gaining a place in the final and five countries going home after the first of two semi-finals in the pan-continental music extravaganza.
Performers from 15 countries battled it out in front of thousands of fans in Basel, Switzerland for 10 spots in Saturday's final, with the result decided by viewers' votes.
Betting market favourites KAJ, a trio of Swedish-speaking Finns, performed Bara Bada Bastu, a catchy ode to steam and heat whose title translates roughly as "just take a sauna", accompanied by dancers dressed as lumberjacks and clad in towels.
Joining KAJ in the final is another favourite with oddsmakers, 21-year-old Dutch singer Claude with soulful, Parisian-style ballad C'est La Vie. Claude hopes to win for his country after the Netherlands' 2024 contestant, Joost Klein, was kicked out of Eurovision over a backstage altercation.
Others voted into the final include Icelandic brother duo VAEB with a rap song about rowing, Róa, Norwegian singer Kyle Alessandro's Lighter and two uber-Italian songs that aren't from Italy: DJ Gabry Ponte, representing San Marino with the upbeat Tutta L'Italia and the highly caffeinated Espresso Macchiato by Estonia's Tommy Cash.
Ukraine, Portugal, Poland and Albania also made the final. Azerbaijan, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus and Slovenia were eliminated.
Music fans across Europe and beyond have travelled to the northern Swiss city of Basel, which is hosting Eurovision because Swiss singer Nemo won last year's contest in Sweden.
Canadian chanteuse Celine Dion, who won Eurovision for Switzerland before she became a mega-star, sent a video message that was played before some of last year's competitors performed her 1988 contest-winning song, Ne partez pas sans moi.
Viewers were also entertained with a comic song performed by hosts Hazel Brugger and Sandra Studer celebrating Swiss inventions including the Swiss Army knife, muesli, processed cheese - and Eurovision, first staged in Lausanne in 1956.
Tuesday's showdown and a second semi-final on Thursday will narrow the field of 37 nations down to 26 who will compete in Saturday's grand final. Twenty finalists will be decided by viewers' votes, while six countries automatically qualify for the final: the host, Switzerland, and the "Big Five" who pay the most to the contest - France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK.
Flying the flag for Australia is singer-songwriter Marty Zambotto, better known by his stage name Go-Jo, who will perform Milkshake Man in Thursday's semi-final (on Friday, Australian time).
Eurovision was founded partly to foster unity on a continent scarred by World War II, and its motto is United by Music. But political divisions often cloud the contest, despite organisers' efforts to keep politics out.
Officials say more than 1000 police officers are on duty in Basel this week, and organisers are expecting protests against Israel's participation because of the country's conduct of its war against Hamas in Gaza.
A demonstration against anti-Semitism is also planned on Thursday, the day Israeli singer Yuval Raphael performs in the second semi-final.
Raphael is a survivor of Hamas militants' October 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel that killed 1200 people. More than 52,800 people in Gaza have been killed in Israel's retaliatory offensive, according to the territory's health ministry.
Following tensions over Israel's participation and Klein's expulsion in 2024, the European Broadcasting Union that organises Eurovision has tightened the contest's code of conduct, calling on participants to respect Eurovision's values of "universality, diversity, equality and inclusivity" and its political neutrality.
Audience members will be allowed to wave Palestinian flags inside Basel's St Jakobshalle arena, after a contentious ban last year. Participants, however, can only wave their own national flag onstage or in other on-camera areas. Some delegations have protested that effectively bans LGBTQI pride flags from an event with a huge gay following.
Competition has kicked off in the 69th Eurovision Song Contest with sauna-loving Swedish entry KAJ gaining a place in the final and five countries going home after the first of two semi-finals in the pan-continental music extravaganza.
Performers from 15 countries battled it out in front of thousands of fans in Basel, Switzerland for 10 spots in Saturday's final, with the result decided by viewers' votes.
Betting market favourites KAJ, a trio of Swedish-speaking Finns, performed Bara Bada Bastu, a catchy ode to steam and heat whose title translates roughly as "just take a sauna", accompanied by dancers dressed as lumberjacks and clad in towels.
Joining KAJ in the final is another favourite with oddsmakers, 21-year-old Dutch singer Claude with soulful, Parisian-style ballad C'est La Vie. Claude hopes to win for his country after the Netherlands' 2024 contestant, Joost Klein, was kicked out of Eurovision over a backstage altercation.
Others voted into the final include Icelandic brother duo VAEB with a rap song about rowing, Róa, Norwegian singer Kyle Alessandro's Lighter and two uber-Italian songs that aren't from Italy: DJ Gabry Ponte, representing San Marino with the upbeat Tutta L'Italia and the highly caffeinated Espresso Macchiato by Estonia's Tommy Cash.
Ukraine, Portugal, Poland and Albania also made the final. Azerbaijan, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus and Slovenia were eliminated.
Music fans across Europe and beyond have travelled to the northern Swiss city of Basel, which is hosting Eurovision because Swiss singer Nemo won last year's contest in Sweden.
Canadian chanteuse Celine Dion, who won Eurovision for Switzerland before she became a mega-star, sent a video message that was played before some of last year's competitors performed her 1988 contest-winning song, Ne partez pas sans moi.
Viewers were also entertained with a comic song performed by hosts Hazel Brugger and Sandra Studer celebrating Swiss inventions including the Swiss Army knife, muesli, processed cheese - and Eurovision, first staged in Lausanne in 1956.
Tuesday's showdown and a second semi-final on Thursday will narrow the field of 37 nations down to 26 who will compete in Saturday's grand final. Twenty finalists will be decided by viewers' votes, while six countries automatically qualify for the final: the host, Switzerland, and the "Big Five" who pay the most to the contest - France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK.
Flying the flag for Australia is singer-songwriter Marty Zambotto, better known by his stage name Go-Jo, who will perform Milkshake Man in Thursday's semi-final (on Friday, Australian time).
Eurovision was founded partly to foster unity on a continent scarred by World War II, and its motto is United by Music. But political divisions often cloud the contest, despite organisers' efforts to keep politics out.
Officials say more than 1000 police officers are on duty in Basel this week, and organisers are expecting protests against Israel's participation because of the country's conduct of its war against Hamas in Gaza.
A demonstration against anti-Semitism is also planned on Thursday, the day Israeli singer Yuval Raphael performs in the second semi-final.
Raphael is a survivor of Hamas militants' October 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel that killed 1200 people. More than 52,800 people in Gaza have been killed in Israel's retaliatory offensive, according to the territory's health ministry.
Following tensions over Israel's participation and Klein's expulsion in 2024, the European Broadcasting Union that organises Eurovision has tightened the contest's code of conduct, calling on participants to respect Eurovision's values of "universality, diversity, equality and inclusivity" and its political neutrality.
Audience members will be allowed to wave Palestinian flags inside Basel's St Jakobshalle arena, after a contentious ban last year. Participants, however, can only wave their own national flag onstage or in other on-camera areas. Some delegations have protested that effectively bans LGBTQI pride flags from an event with a huge gay following.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Perth Now
3 days ago
- Perth Now
Lulu insists she has always been very a 'private' person she reflects on childhood 'shame'
Lulu has always been a "very private" person. The 76-year-old singer shot to fame as a teenager in the 1960s with her now-signature song Shout but insisted that "nobody knows" who she really is because she has always been "very careful" when it comes to choosing what she reveals about herself. Speaking on BBC's The One Show, she said: "A friend of mine once said to me 'People think they know Lulu, but nobody knows you...' and I think it's partly to do with the fact that I come from a Scottish mother who said 'Don't wash your dirty linen in public!' "So I was very...I've always been very careful, very private. I'm chatty, but I keep a lot of things to myself, so now I'm talking about everything." The Eurovision star is heading out on tour across the UK in October to discuss her life, and explained that she has only decided to do so now because she comes from a generation where there was "a lot of shame" associated with talking about issues but things have since changed. She said: "This is mainly because the landscape has changed. When I was young, when my mother was young, you didn't talk [about things]. Everything was a secret, and there was a lot of shame because you didn't talk about stuff but today talk about things and I think it's healthier. Some overshare, but hopefully I won't! All the ups and downs I've had - and I've had a life, let's put it like that - I've had an amazing, amazing life but I've also had certain things in my life that I've never discussed. "When I go on stage, on my tour, I'm gonna have very special people ask questions on stage about my life, and I'm gonna reveal stuff, how I've come through certain things. "Maybe people can relate to it, and if I've managed to come through it, maybe it will help someone else. That's the way it is today and it is so much healthier."
The Advertiser
3 days ago
- The Advertiser
ABBA's Bjorn creates new musical using AI
ABBA's Bjorn Ulvaeus is making a new musical using AI and has hailed the divisive technology "an extension of your mind". Ulvaeus, 80, was one of 10,500 signatories from creative industries warning artificial intelligence companies that unlicensed use of their work is a "major, unjust threat" to artists' livelihoods. Although Ulvaeus is against his work being used without his consent - that doesn't mean he isn't a fan of the technology, going as far as to call it a songwriting partner. Speaking at London's inaugural SXSW, he said: "It is such a great tool. It is like having another songwriter in the room with a huge reference frame. "It is really an extension of your mind. You have access to things that you didn't think of before." Explaining how he utilises AI, the Swedish pop veteran added: "You can prompt a lyric you have written about something, and you're stuck maybe, and you want this song to be in a certain style. "You can ask it, How would you extend? Where would you go from here? It usually comes out with garbage, but sometimes there is something in it that gives you another idea." Ulvaeus previously warned that AI must not "exclude the human". ABBA's Bjorn Ulvaeus is making a new musical using AI and has hailed the divisive technology "an extension of your mind". Ulvaeus, 80, was one of 10,500 signatories from creative industries warning artificial intelligence companies that unlicensed use of their work is a "major, unjust threat" to artists' livelihoods. Although Ulvaeus is against his work being used without his consent - that doesn't mean he isn't a fan of the technology, going as far as to call it a songwriting partner. Speaking at London's inaugural SXSW, he said: "It is such a great tool. It is like having another songwriter in the room with a huge reference frame. "It is really an extension of your mind. You have access to things that you didn't think of before." Explaining how he utilises AI, the Swedish pop veteran added: "You can prompt a lyric you have written about something, and you're stuck maybe, and you want this song to be in a certain style. "You can ask it, How would you extend? Where would you go from here? It usually comes out with garbage, but sometimes there is something in it that gives you another idea." Ulvaeus previously warned that AI must not "exclude the human". ABBA's Bjorn Ulvaeus is making a new musical using AI and has hailed the divisive technology "an extension of your mind". Ulvaeus, 80, was one of 10,500 signatories from creative industries warning artificial intelligence companies that unlicensed use of their work is a "major, unjust threat" to artists' livelihoods. Although Ulvaeus is against his work being used without his consent - that doesn't mean he isn't a fan of the technology, going as far as to call it a songwriting partner. Speaking at London's inaugural SXSW, he said: "It is such a great tool. It is like having another songwriter in the room with a huge reference frame. "It is really an extension of your mind. You have access to things that you didn't think of before." Explaining how he utilises AI, the Swedish pop veteran added: "You can prompt a lyric you have written about something, and you're stuck maybe, and you want this song to be in a certain style. "You can ask it, How would you extend? Where would you go from here? It usually comes out with garbage, but sometimes there is something in it that gives you another idea." Ulvaeus previously warned that AI must not "exclude the human". ABBA's Bjorn Ulvaeus is making a new musical using AI and has hailed the divisive technology "an extension of your mind". Ulvaeus, 80, was one of 10,500 signatories from creative industries warning artificial intelligence companies that unlicensed use of their work is a "major, unjust threat" to artists' livelihoods. Although Ulvaeus is against his work being used without his consent - that doesn't mean he isn't a fan of the technology, going as far as to call it a songwriting partner. Speaking at London's inaugural SXSW, he said: "It is such a great tool. It is like having another songwriter in the room with a huge reference frame. "It is really an extension of your mind. You have access to things that you didn't think of before." Explaining how he utilises AI, the Swedish pop veteran added: "You can prompt a lyric you have written about something, and you're stuck maybe, and you want this song to be in a certain style. "You can ask it, How would you extend? Where would you go from here? It usually comes out with garbage, but sometimes there is something in it that gives you another idea." Ulvaeus previously warned that AI must not "exclude the human".
West Australian
4 days ago
- West Australian
ABBA's Bjorn creates new musical using AI
ABBA's Bjorn Ulvaeus is making a new musical using AI and has hailed the divisive technology "an extension of your mind". Ulvaeus, 80, was one of 10,500 signatories from creative industries warning artificial intelligence companies that unlicensed use of their work is a "major, unjust threat" to artists' livelihoods. Although Ulvaeus is against his work being used without his consent - that doesn't mean he isn't a fan of the technology, going as far as to call it a songwriting partner. Speaking at London's inaugural SXSW, he said: "It is such a great tool. It is like having another songwriter in the room with a huge reference frame. "It is really an extension of your mind. You have access to things that you didn't think of before." Explaining how he utilises AI, the Swedish pop veteran added: "You can prompt a lyric you have written about something, and you're stuck maybe, and you want this song to be in a certain style. "You can ask it, How would you extend? Where would you go from here? It usually comes out with garbage, but sometimes there is something in it that gives you another idea." Ulvaeus previously warned that AI must not "exclude the human".
