Voting begins in Eurovision Song Contest final in Switzerland
An anxious wait has begun for the Eurovision Song Contest winner, after 26 countries including the UK, Israel and Ukraine performed in Basel, Switzerland.
The winner will be determined by viewer votes, which have already begun, and juries made up of music industry professionals across European countries, who cast their votes based on rehearsals.
The Irish jury's 'douze points' were awarded to Austria, as announced by Westlife singer and broadcaster Nicky Byrne.
Earlier, BBC commentator Graham Norton said there was a 'mixed response' in the arena to Israeli singer Yuval Raphael.
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The 24-year-old October 7th-attack survivor sang her entry New Day Will Rise, and saw cheers and boos on Saturday evening, said Norton.
The performance developed an added edge when a song contest crew member was hit with paint, after two people tried to rush on stage to disrupt Israeli singer Yuval Raphael's performance, organisers have said.
Israeli singer Yuval Raphael representing Israel with the song New Day Will Rise. Photograph: AFP
A spokesman for SRG SSR (Swiss Broadcasting Company) said: 'At the end of the Israeli performance a man and a woman tried to get over a barrier on to the stage. They were stopped. One of the two agitators threw paint and a crew member was hit. The crew member is fine and nobody was injured. The man and the woman were taken out of the venue and handed over to the police.'
Before the event began Sweden, Austria and Israel were considered among the favourites in the
song contest
, final.
Ireland failed to make it
beyond the semi-final
on Thursday night, despite high hopes for the catchy Laika Party performed by Norwegian-born Emmy Kristiansen.
Bookmakers give Sweden's entry, comedy trio KAJ, a 42 per cent chance of winning the world's biggest music event.
A win for KAJ would be Sweden's eighth overall, moving it clear of Ireland to become the most successful country in Eurovision history.
KAJ's song, Bara Bada Bastu, translates as Let's Just Sauna and celebrates the power of saunas.
'It is a cherished way of everyday life, just relaxing and connecting and like staying quiet,' said KAJ member Kevin Holmstrom before the final.
Latvian group Tautumeitas representing Latvia with the song Bur Man Laimi during the flag ceremony before the grand final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2025. Photograph: Getty Images
Albanian duo Shkodra Elektronike representing Albania with the song Zjerm during the flag ceremony. Photograph: Getty Images
Other frontrunners include Austria's JJ (Johannes Pietsch) with the emotional song Wasted Love, Israeli singer Yuval Raphael with the ballad New Day Will Rise, Finland's Erika Vikman with the innuendo-laden German language song Ich Komme, France's Louane with Maman, and Dutch singer Claude Kiambe's C'est La Vie.
There has also been buzz around host country Switzerland's Zoe Me with Voyage, Estonia's Tommy Cash with Italian parody Espresso Macchiato, and Malta's Miriana Conte, who changed her song's title, Kant – due to a complaint about its similarity to a certain English word – to Serving.
Finnish Group KAJ representing Sweden with the song Bara Bada Bastu were among the favourites to lift the prize in Basel. Photograph: Getty Images
Icelandic duo Vaeb representing Iceland with the song Roa before the contest tonight. Photograph: Getty Images
The winner will be determined by a combination of points from national juries and viewer votes in the participating 26 countries, along with a separate rest of the world poll.
Earlier, there was speculation that Canadian singer Celine 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.
During the week, several pro-Palestinian protests were held in Basel and more are expected to happen on Saturday. Protesters have been calling for people to boycott the event because Israel is represented amid the ongoing military bombardment of Gaza.
More than 300 Gazans have been
killed in Israeli strikes
since Thursday, according to local health authorities, one of the deadliest phases of violence since a truce collapsed in March.
Ukrainian band Ziferblat representing Ukraine with the song Bird of Pray. Photograph: Getty Images
The European Broadcasting Union has resisted calls to exclude Israel from the competition. The union previously banned Russia from the Eurovision after it invaded Ukraine in 2022.
On Thursday, the Basel government said more than 200,000 people have visited the city so far for the contest, after the competition returned to Switzerland, which first hosted it in 1956 in Lugano. – Additional reporting: PA/Reuters
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