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Eurovision 2025 live: Grand final begins in Basel, Switzerland

Eurovision 2025 live: Grand final begins in Basel, Switzerland

SBS Australia17-05-2025

Itching to get in on the action? You can watch the Eurovision grand final by heading straight to .
Tony Armstrong and Courtney Act are hosting and commentating Australia's coverage live from Basel, Switzerland.
The stream has just kicked off — so quickly run to the kettle to top up your coffee.
— Alexandra Koster
21m ago 6:24am Yes, Australians can vote in the Eurovision grand final.
Votes can be cast via the official Eurovision Song Contest app. Download for Android and here.
You can also head to to cast your vote. Each vote costs 70 cents and you can cast a maximum of 20 votes per transaction.
— Jessica Bahr
6m ago 6:39am Fun fact: The backstage team at Eurovision only has about 35 seconds to change the set.
That's all the time they get to make sure the props are swapped out for the next performance and to get all the performers ready, mic'd up, and in the right spot.
"We call it the Formula 1 tyre change," Richard van Rouwendaal, the Dutch Eurovision stage manager told BBC.
"Each person in the crew can only do one thing. You run on stage with one light bulb or one prop. You always walk on the same line. If you go off course, you will hit somebody."
"It's a bit like ice skating."
The stage crew has about two weeks to practice before the big day.
— Alexandra Koster
6m ago 6:39am The Netherlands is up next, with Claude's 'C'est la vie'
There's something nice about not knowing the words to any of these songs as a mere uncultured monolingual speaker, but feeling a jolt of excitement when they say, in English, "it goes up, it goes down".
So true, Claude. It does go up and down.
— Alexandra Koster
7m ago 6:39am I know I'm not the only person who still dreams Finland's infamous 'Cha Cha Cha' by Käärijä at the 2023 contest (robbed!).
Finland's Erika Vikman channels the Finnish Eurovision spirit — which I can only assume is absolutely whackadoo — with 'Ich komme'.
It gets so intense towards the end that I'm just left staring at the screen as my eyes are assaulted with blasts of light and 'ICH KOMME' in big letters, which translates to 'I'm coming'.
Our overlords, Courtney Act and Tony Armstrong, also drop that we may be getting a surprise performance from Käärijä tonight?! Yes, yes, a thousand times, yes.
— Alexandra Koster
31m ago 6:15am If I could have access to a time machine, I would use it to take me back approximately seven minutes so I could watch Iceland's performance again.
A dash of K-pop, a sliver of Irish dancing, mixed with an electronic sea shanty, Iceland's Væb is immediately making me want to invest in some silver get-up.
— Alexandra Koster
34m ago 6:11am As a quick palate cleanser, here are some of the best posts on X right now:
— Alexandra Koster
37m ago 6:09am The girls are here.
Now we've got Remembering Monday with 'What the Hell Just Happened?'.
They literally look like a jazzier, more Sabrina Carpenter version of The Powerpuff Girls. In my view, that's always a sign of a winning performance.
They even cap off their performance with big smiles inside a love heart! This is canon now, as far as I'm concerned.
— Alexandra Koster
37m ago 6:08am The Eurovision Song Contest is always a visual treat, with many performers going all out with not only their vocals, but also their outfits, visual effects, and stage design.
Here are some of the best images so far.
— Jessica Bahr
52m ago 5:54am It's not Eurovision unless it literally looks like someone has placed a sheer stocking — or a schmear of Vaseline — over the camera lens.
The crowd is chuffed by Ukraine's entrant, Ziferblat with 'Bird of Pray'.
My favourite part was the screen blackouts that immediately made me believe I had a power outage, as I'm sure it did for many other watch parties out there.
— Alexandra Koster
56m ago 5:49am The wind machine really is working overtime for Lithuania, with Katarsis' 'Tavo akys'.
It's kind of giving an even campier version of Evanescence, which I am absolutely an advocate for.
The performance is capped with 44 'Tavo's'.
I'm not sure what Tavo means in Lithuanian, but according to Nameberry, a baby names meaning website, Tavo translates to "staff of the Goths", which is just really lovely.
— Alexandra Koster
1h ago 5:40am
1h ago 5:36am I fear this may be the best performance of the night so far, Estonia's entrant Tommy Cash with 'Espresso Macchiato' — which I will be singing for the next year.
I never knew I needed to see someone float above a background of coffee beans until now. Stunning. Gorgeous. No notes.
— Alexandra Koster
1h ago 5:32am Okay, Alice in Wonderland!
Next up is Luxembourg's entrant, Laura Thorn with 'La poupée monte le son'.
There's also a costume change, so we've really just gotten the full Eurovision experience.
— Alexandra Koster
1h ago 5:29am We start off the performances with a hot (get it?) performance from Norway's entrant, Kyle Alessandro with 'Lighter'.
Unsurprisingly, the stage is plastered with pyrotechnics. Flame on!
— Alexandra Koster
1h ago 5:25am As the finalists for this year's competition roll onto the stage, I can't help but think of a universe where our boy Go-Jo was up there, sprouting the multiple benefits of drinking his delicious milkshakes.
Go-Jo was eliminated in the second semi-final on Friday morning.
Alas, 37 countries have competed in this year's Eurovision, and 26 have made it through to the final. Our finalists are:
Albania: Shkodra Elektronike — Zjerm
Armenia: PARG — SURVIVOR
Austria: JJ — Wasted Love
Denmark: Sissal — Hallucination
Estonia: Tommy Cash — Espresso Macchiato
Finland: Erika Vikman — ICH KOMME
France: Louane — Maman
Germany: Abor & Tynna — Baller
Greece: Klavdia — Asteromáta
Iceland: VÆB — RÓA
Israel: Yuval Raphael — New Day Will Rise
Italy: Lucio Corsi — Volevo essere un duro
Latvia: Tautumeitas — Bur Man Laimi
Lithuania: Katarsis — Tavo Akys
Luxembourg: Laura Thorn — La Poupée Monte Le Son
Malta: Miriana Conte — SERVING
Netherlands: Claude — C'est La Vie
Norway: Kyle Alessandro — Lighter
Poland: Justyna Steczkowska — GAJA
Portugal: NAPA — Deslocado
San Marino: Gabry Ponte — Tutta L'Italia
Spain: Melody — Esa diva
Sweden: KAJ — Bara Bada Bastu
Switzerland | Zoë Më – Voyage
Ukraine: Ziferblat — Bird of Pray
United Kingdom: Remember Monday — What The Hell Just Happened? — Alexandra Koster
2h ago 5:05am Welcome to our coverage of the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest grand final.
Finalists from 26 countries are taking to the stage in Basel, Switzerland.
We will be recapping performance highlights, major moments, and results as they come in.
You can also watch live on SBS and
— Jessica Bahr

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