Eurovision: the grand final line-up
Hazel Brugger, left, and Sandra Studer are hosting the Eurovision 2025 semi-finals
The 26 countries taking part in Saturday's Eurovision Song Contest grand final, are now known, with 20 now having qualified from this week's semifinals.
Ten countries went through from Tuesday's first semi-final, while five were eliminated following votes cast by viewers.
The final line-up was completed after Thursday's second semifinal, when 10 countries progressed and six were knocked out.
The so-called "Big Five" -- Eurovision's main financial backers France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom -- have guaranteed spots in the final, alongside hosts Switzerland.
Here are the 26 countries, their acts and their songs competing for Eurovision glory on Saturday at the St. Jakobshalle arena in the Swiss city of Basel:
-- Albania: Shkodra Elektronike, "Zjerm"
-- Armenia: Parg, "Survivor"
-- Austria: JJ, "Wasted Love"
-- Estonia: Tommy Cash, "Espresso Macchiato"
-- Denmark: Sissal, "Hallucination"
-- Finland: Erika Vikman, "Ich Komme"
-- France: Louane, "Maman"
-- Germany: Abor & Tynna, "Baller"
-- Greece: Klavdia, "Asteromata"
-- Iceland: Vaeb, "Roa"
-- 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 Poupee 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: Zoe Me, "Voyage"
-- Ukraine: Ziferblat, "Bird of Pray"
-- United Kingdom: Remember Monday, "What the Hell Just Happened?"
© 2025 AFP
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Japan Times
18-05-2025
- Japan Times
On a high: Austria's JJ wins Eurovision 2025
Austria's JJ won the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest on Sunday with his opera-tinged song "Wasted Love" triumphing at the world's biggest live music television event. JJ topped the votes from national juries around Europe and viewers from across the continent and beyond, giving Austria its first victory since Conchita Wurst's triumph in 2014 with "Rise Like a Phoenix." After the nail-biting drama as the votes were revealed, Austria finished with 436 points, ahead of Israel on 357 and Estonia on 356. "Thank you, Europe, for making my dreams come true," said the 24-year-old countertenor, whose real name is Johannes Pietsch. "Love is the strongest force in the world. Let's spread more love. "This is beyond my wildest dreams. It's crazy." "Wasted Love" saw him hit the high notes while mixing opera and techno. In his Eurovision song about the experience of unrequited love, JJ blended lyricism and balladry before ending with a techno flourish. His performance was filmed in black and white, in the 4:3 ratio of the monochrome television era. Sweden had long been the bookmakers' hot favorite to win the 69th edition of the contest with the comedy trio KAJ's "Bara Bada Bastu" on the delights of sweating it out in a sauna. But they faded away as the votes came in, finishing fourth ahead of Italy, Greece and France. Separate jury and viewer votes from each of this year's 37 participating countries — with equal weight — plus an extra vote from the rest of the world combined, decided who won the coveted microphone-shaped trophy. An estimated 160 million people across Europe and beyond were expected to tune in for the annual TV spectacle, where kitsch, glam and spectacular staging go hand in hand. The 26 finalists took the stage carrying their national flags at the start of the show, to the thundering sound of a traditional drum corps. The songs in contention were a showcase of Europe's different musical scenes. They included a Portuguese guitar ballad, a Maltese diva, Lithuanian alternative rock, an Italian singalong, a Greek power ballad, ethereal Latvian choral folk and German booming beats. Finland's Erika Vikman — who gained momentum during Eurovision week with the orgasmic "Ich Komme" — finished by being hoisted in the air on a spark-emitting golden microphone, triggering a big response in the arena. Poland's Justyna Steczkowska, 52, set a new record between Eurovision appearances, returning 30 years after her first appearance in the competition. The Netherlands' competitor Claude broke into tears after performing his song "C'est La Vie." French singer Louane, who lost both her parents as a teenager, performed her song "Maman," with falling pieces of cork representing the sands of time. The song's final word was spoken by her own daughter. And Malta's Miriana Conte finished her diva big number "Serving" by bouncing up and down on an exercise ball. Israel's participation in Eurovision 2025 prompted a series of protests in Basel over the war in Gaza. Israel's entrant Yuval Raphael survived the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that sparked the Gaza war, hiding beneath bodies as Hamas gunmen attacked a music festival, killing hundreds. During the performance of her song "New Day Will Rise," loud whistles could be heard in the arena and two people tried to get on stage. "At the end of the Israeli performance, a man and a woman tried to get over a barrier onto the stage. They were stopped. One of the two agitators threw paint," a Eurovision spokesman said. "The man and the woman were taken out of the venue and handed over to the police." Elsewhere in Basel, pro-Palestinian demonstrators clashed briefly with riot police. Blows were exchanged and police used tear gas. Some 6,500 excited ticket holders packed out the St. Jakobshalle arena in Basel, dressed up to the nines and ready to party. "This is my first live show at Eurovision. I have goosebumps, I'm so excited!" said Luena Beeler, 20, wearing a red sequin-covered Tirol-style dress, and a big Austrian flag on her shoulders. "This is one of my life dreams!" Some 36,000 partygoers were watching a live transmission of the show at the football stadium opposite the arena, and held a mass singalong of Swedish four-piece ABBA's smash hit "Waterloo," which won Eurovision 1974.
Yomiuri Shimbun
18-05-2025
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Austria Wins Third Eurovision Crown with JJ's Song Wasted Love
Reuters JJ, representing Austria with 'Wasted Love', winner of the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest, kisses the trophy during the Grand Final, in Basel, Switzerland, May 18, 2025. BASEL, Switzerland, May 18 (Reuters) – Austria won the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 in Swiss host city Basel on Saturday, in the country's first victory since bearded drag queen Conchita Wurst won in 2014. Operatic singer JJ won ahead of Israel's Yuval Raphael, a survivor of the October 7 attacks, who sang 'New Day Will Rise' in the world's biggest music competition, which was watched by more than 160 million people across the world. The win was Austria's third in the competition, following Conchita's success and Udo Juergens' victory in 1966. JJ, 24, a countertenor opera singer from Vienna, combined elements of opera, techno and soprano heights in his song Wasted Love, winning the hearts of the professional juries and telephone voters. 'This is absolutely insane. My dreams came true,' said the singer, whose real name is Johannes Pietsch. 'It's out of this world.' Going into the final, the Filipino-Austrian was second favourite behind Swedish comedy trio KAJ, whose song extolling the joy of saunas had been the hot favourite with bookmakers before finishing fourth. Switzerland, hosting after Swiss rapper and singer Nemo won last year's contest in Malmo, Sweden, finished 10th. JJ said he wanted to give listeners an insight into his deepest thoughts when he wrote the song, and was happy it had resonated with so many fans. 'There's no wasted love. Love is never wasted. There's so much love that we can spread around, and we should use love as the strongest force on planet Earth,' he added. His success was applauded by Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker, who said JJ was writing musical history. 'Dear JJ, you have moved Europe with your voice and sung Austria into the spotlight,' Austrian Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger said on X. JJ told reporters he would like next year's event to be hosted in his hometown of Vienna, which hosted the 2015 final, adding he would like to be a TV host for the event. Meinl-Reisinger and others joked about the significant cost of holding the event at a time when the government is planning to cut spending by billions of euros a year to rein in the budget deficit. 'Now we're going to have to take a look at our budget,' she wrote on X. 'But isn't it fantastic?' Fans travelled from across Europe and beyond to Basel, with 100,000 people attending Eurovision events in the city, including the final. Hermann Heyn travelled from Chile for a once-in-a-lifetime experience. 'We came from really, really far away for this,' he told Reuters. 'We are not even competing, but we needed to be here.' Eurovision, which stresses its political neutrality, faced controversy again this year due to the war in Gaza. Israel's entrant, Raphael, was at the Nova music festival during the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas militants on southern Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage, according to Israeli officials. The singer was the most popular among the general public to finish behind Austria, which was the most popular contestant among the juries. Pro-Palestinian groups urged the European Broadcasting Union to exclude Israel over Gaza, where more than 50,000 people have been killed in the ensuing offensive by Israel, according to local health officials. Around 200 protesters mounted a demonstration in Basel on Saturday evening, while two protesters attempted to get on to the stage during Raphael's performance but were halted by security officials. Nobody was injured. Spanish public broadcaster RTVE also showed a message before the start of the Eurovision show saying 'When human rights are at stake, silence is not an option. Peace and Justice for Palestine'.
Japan Today
18-05-2025
- Japan Today
Austria's JJ soars to Eurovision victory with operatic pop
Johannes Pietsch drew on his own experiences with love to win the Eurovision Song Contest By Blaise GAUQUELIN With his falsetto voice and an angelic smile, Johannes Pietsch, alias JJ, early Sunday catapulted Austria to its first Eurovision victory since the triumph of bearded drag performer Conchita Wurst 11 years ago. With "Wasted Love", which fuses pop and lyrical elements in a crescendo that flows into techno sounds, the Alpine country made what some thought a risky choice -- but it paid off in spades. The song raked in 436 points at the Eurovision Song Contest final in Basel, placing him ahead of Israel in second place and Estonia in third. "This is beyond my wildest dreams! It's crazy!" said JJ, who gripped viewers with his ethereal performance, filmed in black and white, in the 4:3 ratio of the monochrome television era. The Austrian-Filipino countertenor, 24, said he had wanted to give viewers "an insight (into) my deepest soul, how I felt when we wrote the song". He wanted there to be "no wasted love". "There's so much love that we can spread around, and we should use love. It's the strongest force on planet Earth." JJ grew up in Dubai before discovering classical music in Vienna, where, before Eurovision, he was honing his skills between talent shows and minor roles at the opera. In April, he told AFP: "It surprises people that a man can sing so high." Even though he says he appreciates Austria's "very strict" and famous "classical world", he also wants to have the "freedom to let loose" and "experiment". His Eurovision entry was sung from the heart. "My song is about my personal experience with wasted and unreciprocated love. I had too much love to put out there; not much came back," he told AFP during Eurovision week. "My message is to stay strong and you'll get out of any situation, no matter how tough it is. There's always a light at the end of the tunnel." The song pivots from high soprano notes into a blend of lyricism and balladry, before ending with a techno flourish. "We wanted to bring in something new, something unexpected," he told AFP last month, adding that the song's success surprised him. "I did not expect that the mixture of pop and classical music would be so well received, because classical music is something different and not many people listen to it." The singer has set his sights on a blend known as operatic pop, a "cross-genre and cross-disciplinary approach (which) demonstrates exceptional versatility and innovative strength", said Andreas Mailath-Pokorny, rector at Vienna arts and music university MUK, where JJ studies. Austria first won Eurovision in 1966 with "Merci, Cherie" by Udo Juergens -- a ballad about a break-up. "When JJ sings, it's as if time stops," said Austria's 2014 Eurovision winner Conchita Wurst, describing the "impressive professional" as a worthy successor. Earlier this year, the two performers released a duet, while JJ said Wurst provided "many tips" ahead of Saturday's contest. JJ got a taste for classical music from his father, an Austrian IT professional, especially for Bach and Mozart, while his mother, a cook from the Philippines, listened to Celine Dion and Whitney Houston. He went to an international school in Dubai, where his father set up his company. He speaks German, English and Tagalog and learned Arabic and French. He hails Eurovision's massive international following -- and the contest being a "platform for everyone", including the LGBTQ community. "Music is a unified language that everyone speaks and understands," he said. © 2025 AFP
