Eurovision will have to 'wait and see' if Celine Dion performs
There has been speculation that Canadian singer Dion, who won for the Swiss in 1988 with Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi, could take to the St Jakobshalle stage, amid her stepping back from touring due to health issues.
She did appear during the first semi-final on Tuesday, where she sent a video message saying she wants "nothing more" than to be in Basel, and recalling her triumph as a "life-changing moment".
At a press briefing on Saturday, Eurovision director Martin Green, from the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), commented on Dion, saying: "My answer was going to be, Father Christmas exist, you'll have to wait and see."
When asked by the PA news agency if he was feeling relieved that the contest has not seen significant incidents so far compared to 2024's Malmo, when protests and politics overshadowed the singing event amid the outbreak of war in Gaza, he said that he was feeling "quite emotional".
Mr Green added: "I would be lying, of course, if we didn't come into this hoping that we could re-establish a sense of unity, calm and togetherness this year in a difficult world, every single person over the past few months has worked to make that happen, not by force, but through conversation and demonstration of common-held values.
"And we have 12 hours to go, and if we get there, and I think we will, I am just in awe of this thing for making a really profoundly beautiful statement to the rest of the world."
The Basel government said more than half a million people have visited the city so far this week after the competition came home to Switzerland, which first hosted it in 1956 in Lugano.
The Eurovision Song Contest Grand Final takes place on Saturday, 17 May, and will be shown live on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player from 8pm.
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