Latest news with #ZoeMe
The Irish Sun
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
Remember Monday's Eurovision result ‘revealed' just hours before live final – and it's not looking good
BRITISH girl group Remember Monday will be taking to the stage tonight in Basel in a bid to win the Eurovision song contest. But the band, who are singing What The Hell Just Happened?, have been dealt a crushing blow with just hours to go before they perform. 3 Remember Monday will be the eight band to perform this evening Credit: EPA 3 The friends are singing What The Hell Just Happened Credit: AP The bookies now make them 66/1 to cause an upset tonight, meaning they're more likely to finish in last place (3/1) than first, while 12/1 says they score 'nul points'. Alex Apati of Ladbrokes said: "Remember Monday need nothing short of a miracle to cause an upset in Switzerland tonight, if the latest odds are anything to go by." Inspired by their friendship after they met at school in Hampshire, Remember Monday will be the eighth performance this evening. They will be up against the noted contenders Sweden, who are represented by Swedish-speaking Finnish trio Kaj with their entry Bara Bada Bastu, a comedic song about Nordic sauna culture, and who will break Eurovision records if they win. Read More on Eurovision Ireland, whose 2025 representative Emmy Kristiansen failed to get through in Thursday's semi-final, and Sweden are currently on seven wins each after Swedish singer Loreen's victory in Liverpool in 2023. Other favourites this year are Also in the mix are Finnish leather-wearing Erika Vikman with the innuendo-laden German language song Ich Komme, France's Louane with the soulful Maman, and Dutch singer Claude Kiambe's touching 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 an English language swearword, to Serving. Most read in TV 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. The UK's national jury votes are set to be announced by singer The grand final will also see previous Eurovision runners-up There has also been 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. Eurovision legend Graham Norton reveals secret surgery for 'crippling' condition ahead of song contest final 3 There has been a lot of buzz around Zoe Me representing Switzerland Credit: Shutterstock Editorial Everything you need to know about Eurovision Here's your complete guide to all things Eurovision: Who was How to host a How many times has How much is Graham Norton paid and what's his When has Eurovision
Evening Standard
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Evening Standard
Dutch belt out their return to Eurovision with violins
Italy along with Switzerland's Zoe Me are already through, with the Basel-born singer opting to go for simple staging on Tuesday for French language song Voyage, as camera tricks were used to emphasise the dramatic beats, similar to Olly Alexander's Dizzy in 2024, who used the same stage director.
Observer
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Observer
Basel: a city at the heart of European culture
Basel will be in the international spotlight for a week of festivities surrounding the Eurovision Song Contest but the Swiss city has been at the heart of European culture for centuries. With a population of 180,000, Switzerland's third-biggest city after Zurich and Geneva straddles the River Rhine and sits right on the northern border with both France and Germany. Basel's location played a major role in its growth and continental importance through the ages. From May 11 to 17, it will be centre-stage in Europe again as it hosts Eurovision 2025, the pop music extravaganza that has become one of the world's biggest annual live television events and a giant international party. The influence of the Rhine can be felt in Basel's historic centre, dominated by the twin towers of Basel Minster, where the Dutch thinker Erasmus is buried. But Basel's modern emblems are the two Roche Towers, Switzerland's tallest buildings. Completed in the last decade, standing 205 metres and 178 metres (673 and 584 feet) high, they are the headquarters of the eponymous giant pharmaceutical firm. The chemical and pharmaceutical industries now drive the city's economy. Swiss singer Zoe Me representing Switzerland with the song "Voyage" arrives on the turquoise carpet next to the Basel Town Hall during the opening ceremony of the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 in Basel on May 11, 2025. - Carnival and the arts - Basel is one of Europe's great centres of culture. The first edition of Sebastian Brant's "Ship of Fools", one of the bestsellers of the European Renaissance, was printed in the city. The Rhine spirit is vividly expressed every spring at the three-day Basel Carnival, which transforms the city streets into a river of painted lanterns, colourful masks and creative costumes, flowing to the sound of pipes and drums. The world's biggest Protestant carnival features on UNESCO's intangible cultural heritage list and attracts thousands of tourists. The city has world-renowned museums -- none more so than the Kunstmuseum, the oldest public art collection in the world dating back to 1661. In a referendum in 1967, citizens decided to buy two paintings by Pablo Picasso, who, moved by the vote, would later donate several more works to the city. Across the Rhine, the Museum Tinguely draws in thousands of visitors with its kinetic art sculptures, while just outside the city, the Beyeler Foundation hosts an outstanding collection of modern and contemporary artworks. And every year, art lovers and gallery owners from around the world flock to Art Basel, one of the world's top contemporary art fairs. In sports, Basel is home to tennis all-time great Roger Federer, while FC Basel are on the verge of winning their 21st Swiss football championship. Belgian singer Red Sebastian representing Belgium with the song "Strobe Lights' arrives on the turquoise carpet next to the Basel Town Hall during the opening ceremony of the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 in Basel on May 11, 2025. - Chemicals and quakes - Besides its culture, Basel is now synonymous with the chemical and pharmaceutical industries, home to globally important groups such as Roche, Novartis, Sandoz and Syngenta. The psychedelic drug LSD was created at the Sandoz laboratories there in 1938. Pharma and chemicals make Basel a major player in the Swiss economy, attracting researchers and students as well as cross-border workers. Around 35,000 people cross over from France and Germany, attracted by higher Swiss wages. Basel is the home of the Bank for International Settlements, considered the central bank of central banks. The city is left-leaning, perhaps due to the influence of its university, the oldest in Switzerland, founded in 1460. It has approximately 13,000 students from 100 countries, around a quarter of whom are studying for their doctorates. The city has also lived through major disasters: the great earthquake of 1356 and the Sandoz chemical spill 630 years later. The biggest quake in central Europe in recorded history, and the fires it caused, destroyed a city already ravaged by the Black Death. The 1986 fire at the Sandoz chemical plant on the outskirts of Basel also left its mark due to the ecological disaster caused by toxic chemicals leaking into the Rhine, killing wildlife as far downstream as the Netherlands. —AFP
Daily Mirror
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
First Eurovision semi-final kicks off as Netherlands returns after controversy
With the Eurovision Song Contestsemi-final underway, fans are eagerly waiting for their favourite acts to progress onto the next stage. Basel is set to host the 2025 contest following Switzerland's Nemo's victory last May in Sweden with their song 'The Code', a reflection on their non-binary identity. Rumours have been swirling that Eurovision icon Celine Dion might grace the stage again, as Switzerland gears up for the celebration, promising a festive food and drink street, 250 hours of thrilling live music, and the much-anticipated Eurovision Village. Their selection for 2025 is Basel-born songbird Zoe Me, who penned Voyage in Scotland, collaborating with Scottish songstress and ex-X Factor contender Ili, real name Emily Middlemas, and Theo Adams, the creative mastermind behind Olly Alexander's mesmerising Dizzy act in 2024. In conversation with PA, Me expressed her aspiration to be a "good host". She said, "the main goal for me is reaching people's hearts and maybe changing their lives for the better" through the power of her songs. The Netherlands will be back for the Eurovision semi-final tonight after their act was kicked out of the competition just days before the final last year. Dutch artist Joost Klein was disqualified after Swedish police began an investigation into a complaint of "threatening" behaviour made by a female member of the production crew after an incident following his performance during the semi-final. The investigation was later closed by Swedish prosecution authorities. This year, The Netherlands are being represented by Claude, who will perform the song 'C'est La Vie'. This year, former Eurovision stars including Ireland's victor Charlie McGettigan and the UK's Mae Muller, who finished second to last in 2023, have penned a letter demanding a ban on Israel's public broadcaster Kan, accusing Israel of committing "genocide" in Palestine. Just last week, Irish demonstrators, including The Crying Game actor Stephen Rea, advocated for an RTE boycott of the event. The Irish broadcaster has reached out to the EBU for a broader discussion about Israel's participation. Meanwhile, approximately 1,300 police officers are expected to be on duty in Basel this week, bolstered by additional forces from the Swiss Armed Forces, federal police and neighbouring countries – Germany and France. The Basel for Palestine activists displayed Palestinian flags near the Eurovision opening event, the Turquoise Carpet, on Sunday. More protests are planned for Saturday in the city centre at 7pm as the activists protest against Israel's controversial participation in the competition. Among the favourites to win this year include a group from Finland's Swedish-speaking minority who will be representing Sweden. The group, KAJ, will perform their upbeat comical song Bara Bada Bastu is inspired by Nordic sauna culture. It will even mark the first time since the 90s that Sweden enters a song in Swedish. Other contenders include Dutch entry Claude Kiambe's C'est La Vie, Austrian singer JJ's Wasted Love, and French singer Louane's ballad Maman.
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Swiss Eurovision star: I would love for Celine Dion to be in Basel
Swiss singer Zoe Me has said she would 'love' it if Canadian star Celine Dion makes a comeback at this year's Eurovision Song Contest. Dion, 57, who won in Dublin in 1988 with Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi, has stepped away from touring in recent years, due to increasing health issues while living with stiff-person syndrome (SPS). She did return to the stage at the Paris Olympics last year, bringing an emotional end to the opening ceremony with her singing Edith Piaf's classic L'Hymne A L'Amour while in the Eiffel Tower. There has been increased speculation and rumours that Dion would perform in Basel as she represented Switzerland more than three decades ago, and the country has not won since then until Swiss singer Nemo clinched victory with The Code last year at Malmo. Me told the PA news agency: 'I would love for Celine Dion to be in Basel, I don't know if she's there or not, but I love to meet her.' She added that it would be 'mind blowing' if Dion saw her work as the singer won in French, and Me's entry Voyage is in the same language. 'I wouldn't say that she was a main inspiration for my work, but I did kind of want to make Switzerland proud and show the world what Switzerland has done over the previous years,' she added. 'So I mean, in my music video, you see an outfit that is a little bit inspired by the outfit that she wore, when she won. It's not the same at all, but it's like the same colour and the same kind of feel to it.' The Swiss singer, who was born in Basel where the competition will be hosted next week, has taken UK talent on board in the form of writing Voyage in Scotland, working with Scottish songwriter Ili, a former X Factor star whose name is Emily Middlemas, and Theo Adams, the stage director behind Olly Alexander's Dizzy in 2024. Me called where she stayed, between Edinburgh and Glasgow, 'a peaceful little place on Earth', which inspired her. She said: 'So I thought that there's a lot of negativity in the world, and that we need to come together as people again and spread kindness, be kind to each other, support each other, show love to each other, and that was the moment Voyage was born. 'And I think if I hadn't been in Scotland, maybe I wouldn't have felt that was what the world needed in that moment.' Last year, Eurovision was less than easy with contestants complaining about backstage issues. The organisers – the European Broadcasting Union – have enacted updated welfare reforms this year. Me said that this year there was code of conduct for acts to 'sign', and called it 'basically just a lot of rules, you have to be kind to each other, you're not allowed to, like, say mean things, or, like, laugh about each other's, like, stagings… I was like, 'but that's like, obvious''. She added: 'Apparently it's not obvious, which make me think, you know Voyage's it's even more relevant than what I thought it would be. Because if people think it's necessary to hand out a document that says, literally, 'be kind to each other'.' As a previous winner, Switzerland is straight through to Eurovision final on May 17, but Me says she does not 'feel pressure'. 'I think the main goal for me is reaching people's hearts and maybe changing their lives for the better,' she said. Switzerland will first perform in the semi-final, which begins on May 13 at 8pm BST. Dion's rare condition, which causes progressive muscular inflexibility, was documented in her 2024 documentary I Am: Celine Dion. She spoke during it of the pain she is living with, and her desire to return to performing. The five-time Grammy-winner had revealed her SPS diagnosis in December 2022 before cancelling her Courage World Tour.
