After months of national selections and preparations and two weeks of ongoing rehearsals and two semifinals, Eurovision 2025  concluded with the Grand Final Live Show taking place at St'Jakobshalle Arena in Basel, Switzerland.

Switzerland's Nemo broke the code and achieved to bring the trophy home offering to Switzerland the victory for the first time since 1988 with Celine Dion. 

The story so far

How we ended up in Basel? Switzerland's Nemo broke the code and achieved to bring the trophy home offering to Switzerland the victory for the first time since 1988 with Celine Dion.  A total of 37 countries confirmed to take part in the 69th edition of the contest under the slogan of 'United by Music'.

The Hosts

Hazel Brugger and Sandra Studer alongside with Michelle Hunziker had the honor to guide the audience through this evening's show. 

Opening act

 The show opened with the 2025 victorious entry The code performed by last year's winner Nemo.

The Flag Parade

Folllowing the Opening act the show progressed with the traditional flag parade of the competing delegates.

Competing countries

A total of 26 countries will be competing in this evening's show. The 20 qualifiers from the 1st and 2nd  semi final shows along with the pre-qualified Big-5 countries and last year's winners, Switzerland, , will take the stage for their final performance. 

The running order has been decided by the producers and is set as below for the 26 competing acts: 

Norway: Kyle Alessandro -Lighter 

Luxembourg: Laura Thorn - La poupée monte le son

Estonia: Tommy Cash - Espresso macchiato

Israel: Yuval Raphael - New Day Will Rise

Lithuania: Katarsis - Tavo akys 

Spain: Melody - Esa diva

Ukraine: Ziferblat - Bird of pray

United Kingdom: Remember Monday -  What the hell just happened?

Austria: JJ - Wasted Love 

Iceland: VÆB - Róa

Latvia: Tautumeitas - Bur man laimi 

Netherlands: Claude - C’est la vie

Finland: Erika Vikman - Ich komme

Italy: Lucio Corsi - Volevo essere un duro

Poland: Justyna Steczkowska - Gaja

Germany: Abor & Tynna -  Baller 

Greece: Klavdia - Asteromáta

Armenia: PARG - Survivor 

Switzerland: Zoë Më - Voyage

Malta: Miriana Conte - Serving

Portugal: NAPA - Deslocado

Denmark: Sissal - Hallucination

Sweden: KAJ - Bara bada bastu

France: Louane -  maman

San Marino: Gabry Ponte - Tutta l’Italia 

Albania: Shkodra Elektronike - Zjerm 

Interval Acts

Peter, Sue & Marc (1971, 1976, 1979 and 1981), Paola del Medico (1969 and 1980), Luca Hänni (2019) and Gjon’s Tears (2020 and 2021) all former Swiss representatives graced the stage once the competing performances  were over. 

In addition this year's show treated the audience with a on stage battle between the Eurovision stars and televoting winners Baby Lasagna (Croatia 2024) and Käärijä (Finland 2023) both runner ups of their respective contest. Also Sandra Studer performed her own Canzone per te (Switzerland, 1991), as well as from Michelle Hunziker with Nel blu dipinto di blu (Italy, 1958).

Voting process

The final outcome of the competition was determined 50% by the national juries' votes and the rest 50% by the public vote. With the jury votes casted last evening during the Jury show, the results of which were announced today by the national spokespersons, the rest 50% were determined this evening by the televoting, and were announced in the second part of the results presentation declaring the final winner! 

Results

The televote will open at the start of the show just before the opening entry takes to the stage. Viewers not based in  the thirty-seven competing countries will also be able to vote in the Rest of the World vote. The online only platform opened 24 hours befofe tonight’s Grand Final after last night’s Jury Show.  The  Rest of the World voters have to watch clips of all the competing performances before they cast their votes.

Voting is available via the official Eurovision app, as well as via telephone and SMS numbers displayed on screen in the participating countries. Download the official app through the following links:

Jury voting ranking 

This is how the jury voting scoreboard looked once all  37 national juries had announced their points:

Televoting results and overall winner

This is how the final scoreboard turned out after adding the public votes in: 

Congratulations to JJ from Austria who won Eurovision 2025 with his amazing performance of 'Wasted Love'.

Winner's Interview

News Source: Eurovision.tv

Cover photo: EBU/ Corinne Cumming

Video Source: Y.T Eurovision channel

The Marcel Bezençon Awards , which owe their title from the founder of the Eurovision Song Contest, were introduced by Christer Björkman (Sweden 1992 and current Swedish Head of Delegation) and Richard Herrey (member of the Swedish ESC 1984 winning group  The Herreys) and are given out to three acts just before the final show determines the winner of the contest.

Namely the three awards given out were :

Marcel Bezençon Composer Award

The Composer Award, which goes to a song’s team of composers and is determined by the votes of all of the participating composers at this year’s Contest, went this year to Switzerland's  Zoë Më  and her song 'Voyage' composed by Emily Middlemas, Tom Oehler, and Zoë Anina Kressler

Marcel Bezençon Press Award

The Press Award, which is determined by the voted of the accredited media members was handed out  to Louane, who is representing France with her song maman.

Marcel Bezençon Artistic Award 

The Artistic Award, which is for to the best artistic performance and is attributed by the commentators from each participating broadcaster, was also given to Louane for France making her Marcel Benzencon trophies two. 

Watch the whole Award ceremony in the video below:

News Source: Eurovision.tv

Photos Credit: EBU/ Corinne Cumming

Video_ Y.T Eurovision channel

This is it people! After months of national selections and preparations and two weeks of ongoing rehearsals and two semifinals, Eurovision 2025 is about to conclude with the Grand Final Live Show taking place at  St' Jakobshalle Arena in Basel, Switzerland  at 21:00 CEST.

A total of 26 countries will be competing in this evening's show. The 20 qualifiers from the 1st and 2nd  semi final shows along with the pre-qualified Big-5 countries and last year's winners, Switzerland, , will take the stage for their final performance. 

Hazel Brugger and Sandra Studer alongside with Michelle Hunziker will have the honor to guide the audience through this evening's show. The show opens with the traditional flag parade an the 2025 victorious entry The code performed by last year's winner Nemo.

The competing countries

The running order has been decided by the producers and is set as below for the 26 competing acts: 

1. Norway: Kyle Alessandro -Lighter 
2. Luxembourg: Laura Thorn - La poupée monte le son
3. Estonia: Tommy Cash - Espresso macchiato
4. Israel: Yuval Raphael - New Day Will Rise
5. Lithuania: Katarsis - Tavo akys 
6. Spain: Melody - Esa diva
7. Ukraine: Ziferblat - Bird of pray
8. United Kingdom: Remember Monday -  What the hell just happened?
9. Austria: JJ - Wasted Love 
10. Iceland: VÆB - Róa
11. Latvia: Tautumeitas - Bur man laimi 
12. Netherlands: Claude - C’est la vie
13. Finland: Erika Vikman - Ich komme
14. Italy: Lucio Corsi - Volevo essere un duro
15. Poland: Justyna Steczkowska - Gaja
16. Germany: Abor & Tynna -  Baller 
17. Greece: Klavdia - Asteromáta
18. Armenia: PARG - Survivor 
19. Switzerland: Zoë Më - Voyage
20. Malta: Miriana Conte - Serving
21. Portugal: NAPA - Deslocado
22. Denmark: Sissal - Hallucination
23. Sweden: KAJ - Bara bada bastu
24. France: Louane -  maman
25. San Marino: Gabry Ponte - Tutta l’Italia 
26. Albania: Shkodra Elektronike - Zjerm 

Interval Acts

Peter, Sue & Marc (1971, 1976, 1979 and 1981), Paola del Medico (1969 and 1980), Luca Hänni (2019) and Gjon’s Tears (2020 and 2021) all forner Swiss representatives will be gracing the stage once the competing performances  are over. 

In addition this year's show will treat the audience with a on stage battle between Eurovision stars and televoting winners Baby Lasagna (Croatia 2024) and Käärijä (Finland 2023) both runner ups of their respective contest. Also Sandra Studer will perform her own Canzone per te (Switzerland, 1991), as well as from Michelle Hunziker with Nel blu dipinto di blu (Italy, 1958).

Before the show progresses to the announcement a tribute to Céline Dion will take place while the rumors and speculations that she will be present are going wild these last monents.

Voting process & Results

The final outcome of the competition is determined 50% by the national juries' votes and the rest 50% by the public vote. With the jury votes cast last evening during the Jury show, the results of which will be announced today by the national spokespersons, the rest 50% determined tonight by the televoting, will be announced in the second part of the results presentation declaring the final winner! 

The televote will open at the start of the show just before the opening entry takes to the stage. Viewers not based in  the thirty-seven competing countries will also be able to vote in the Rest of the World vote. The online only platform opened 24 hours befofe tonight’s Grand Final after last night’s Jury Show.  The  Rest of the World voters have to watch clips of all the competing performances before they cast their votes.

Voting is available via the official Eurovision app, as well as via telephone and SMS numbers displayed on screen in the participating countries. Download the official app through the following links:

• Download for Android
• Download for iOS

All details on the voting, including the time windows during which you can cast your vote, are available right here.

How to Watch the Grand Final Show

The Grand final show of the 68th Eurovision Song Contest is set to hit the screen at 21:00 CEST. You can watch the show either in one of the participating broadcaster or streamed on the official Eurovision Youtube Channel  or through the national broadcasters found HERE.

News Source: Eurovision.tv

Cover photo: EBU/ Corrine Cumming

The Eurovision week is just a stone throw away from its end and the Eurovision 2023 Grand final live show, with the Jury Show taking place this evening at Malmo Arena in Malmo at 21:00 CEST. 

The 26 competing acts will take the stage and perform their entries which will be watched by all 37 national juries of the countries that took part this year. The Jury show is of significant importance as the jury votes count as the 50% of the score with the rest 50% been deteremined tomorrow by the public votes during tomorrow's Grand final live show, which will declare the final winner of this year's contest. 

Here the running order in which the finalists will be performing: 

1. Norway: Kyle Alessandro -Lighter 
2. Luxembourg: Laura Thorn - La poupée monte le son
3. Estonia: Tommy Cash - Espresso macchiato
4. Israel: Yuval Raphael - New Day Will Rise
5. Lithuania: Katarsis - Tavo akys 
6. Spain: Melody - Esa diva
7. Ukraine: Ziferblat - Bird of pray
8. United Kingdom: Remember Monday -  What the hell just happened?
9. Austria: JJ - Wasted Love 
10. Iceland: VÆB - Róa
11. Latvia: Tautumeitas - Bur man laimi 
12. Netherlands: Claude - C’est la vie
13. Finland: Erika Vikman - Ich komme
14. Italy: Lucio Corsi - Volevo essere un duro
15. Poland: Justyna Steczkowska - Gaja
16. Germany: Abor & Tynna -  Baller 
17. Greece: Klavdia - Asteromáta
18. Armenia: PARG - Survivor 
19. Switzerland: Zoë Më - Voyage
20. Malta: Miriana Conte - Serving
21. Portugal: NAPA - Deslocado
22. Denmark: Sissal - Hallucination
23. Sweden: KAJ - Bara bada bastu
24. France: Louane -  maman
25. San Marino: Gabry Ponte - Tutta l’Italia 
26. Albania: Shkodra Elektronike - Zjerm 

This evening's juring show will not be broadcast live or can the onsite press film any part of the show as it's exclusively aired for the national juries. Ahead of the Jury show early in the afternoon, an addtionally  dress rehearsal is set for 13:30 CEST which is accessable to the press and will give one more opportunity to the competing acts to get even more prepared for tomorrow's live show.  

News Source: Eurovision.tv

Cover photo: EBU/ Corinne Cumming

Following the results of the two semi-finals, the 20 qualifiers (ten from each semi-final) have completed the grand final line-up.

After each semi-final the qualfiers were invited to pick in a draw in which part of the final the will compete (first or secondhalf) or if their position will be determined entirely by the producers' choice. 

Following that draw the producers released the running order of the Grand final show. Of course the host nation will be appreaing in the 19th place of the show ( a position determined at the draw that took place at th Head of Delegations meeting). The show will be opening with Norrway's Kyle Alessandro and closing with Shkodra Elektornikes from Albania.

Here is the analytical running order released late in the evening after the Semi-final 2 show: 

The Jury Show

This  evening the Jury show will be taking place determining the 50% of the outcome with the 37 national juries casting their points while on Saturday night at 21:00 CET the LIVE Grand final show will declare the Eurovision 2024 winner with the addition of the televoting results. 

News Source: Eurovision.tv

Image: Eurovision.tv

Following last Tuesday's Semi Final 1 Live show, tonight the Semi-final 2 LIve show took place at St' Jakobshalle Arena in Basel, Switzerland  determining the second set of 10 qualifying entries to Saturday's Grand final show completing the final line-up of the show. 

From the 37 participating coutries the sedond set of 16 countries competed in this evening's  second semi-final live show determining the rest 10 spots of the Grand final while the Big-5 countries ( Germany, Italy, Spain, France and the United Kingdom) along with the hosting nation Switzerland have pre-qualified for the Grand final. 

The Live Semi-Final Two Show was hosted by Swiss-American poet, comedian and presenter Hazel Brugger alongside with TV host Sandra Studer who represented the hosting nation at Eurovision 1991  finishing  fifth with the song "Canzone per te" ("A song for you").

The Competing Performances

The competing part of the show unfolded in the following running order: 

Australia - Go-Jo - Milkshake Man

Montenegro - Nina Žižić - Dobrodošli

Ireland - EMMY - Laika Party

Latvia -Tautumeitas - Bur Man Laimi

Armenia -  PARG - SURVIVOR

Austria - JJ - Wasted Love

Greece - Klavdia - Asteromáta

Lithuania - Katarsis - Tavo Akys

Malta - Miriana Conte - SERVING

Georgia - Mariam Shengelia - Freedom

Denmark - Sissal  - Hallucination

Czechia - ADONXS - Kiss Kiss Goodbye

Luxembourg - Laura Thorn - La Poupée Monte Le Son

Israel - Yuval Raphael - New Day Will Rise

Serbia - Princ Mila

Finland - Erika Vikman - ICH KOMME

Big-5 countries performances

Notably the three of the Big-5 countries, United Kingdom , Germany along with France performed live on stage tonight their entries without of course competing in the show. 

United Kigdom - Remeber Monday - What the hell just happened

France - Louane -Maman

Germany - Abor & Tynna - Baller

Interval Act

The former Eurovision entrants from the cancelled 2020 contest due to the covid-pandemic graced the stage singing their entries that they didn't have the chance to perform back in 2020 in Rotterdam. Namely,  The Roop (Lithuania, On fire), Efendi (Azerbaijan, Cleopatra), Destiny (Malta, All of my love) and the Swiss hopeful  Gjon’s Tears (Switzerland, Répondez-moi) were the ones that shined on stage singing ther 2020 entries. 

Also following the announcement of the 10 qualifiers the host Sandra Studer gave a special inteptretation of 1990 Eurovision winner Insieme (Toto Cutugno, Italy) as closing act of the night. 

Rest of the World Voting

Inthis year's edition the Rest of the World fans will have a say in the outcome of the show. In order to sychronize the different time zones,  the Rest of the World online vote opened from the end of the Jury Show the previous evening from the live show. The vote wias open until the end of the voting window during the live broadcast of Semi-Final One.

Fans from non participating countries had the chance to cast their votes once they prewatched a clip of all of the cometing entries. 

The results

The last 10 qualifiers that made it to Saturday's Grand final show they are: 

News Source: Eurovision.tv

Images: EBU/Eurovision.tv

As Eurovision week is underway , following last Tuesday evening's Semi Final 1 Show that deteremined the first 10 qualifiers tonight the Semi-final 2 Live show will take place in St' Jakobshalle in Basel, Switzerland in order to complete the Gradn final line-up.

The story so far

Following Nemo's victory in Malmo with The Code, the contest returned back home to Switzerland where it was founded as the first edition took place back in Lugano in 1956.  37 years after it was time for  Lausanne 1989, host following the victory of Céline Dion with Ne partez pas sans moi. A total of 37 countries are taking part in the 69th edition of the contest under the slogan of 'United by Music'.

Semi-final Two show

From the 37 participating coutries the moemnt of truth for the rest 16 countries has come with the second semi-final live show this evening. Notably, the Big-5 countries ( Germany, Italy, Spain, France and the United Kingdom) along with the hosting nation Sweden have pre-qualified for the Grand final. So they are only 10 more spots to be determined in order to have the complete the picture of the 26 finalists. 

The Live Semi-Final One Show will be hosted by Swiss-American poet, comedian and presenter Hazel Brugger alongside with TV host Sandra Studer who represented the hosting nation at Eurovision 1991  finishing  fifth with the song "Canzone per te" ("A song for you").

The 16 competing entries to take the stage this evening will compete in the following running order: 

1. Australia - Go-Jo - Milkshake Man
2. Montenegro - Nina Žižić - Dobrodošli
3. Ireland - EMMY - Laika Party
4. Latvia -Tautumeitas - Bur Man Laimi
5. Armenia -  PARG - SURVIVOR
6. Austria - JJ - Wasted Love
7. Greece - Klavdia - Asteromáta
8. Lithuania - Katarsis - Tavo Akys
9. Malta - Miriana Conte - SERVING
10. Georgia - Mariam Shengelia - Freedom
11. Denmark - Sissal  - Hallucination
12. Czechia - ADONXS - Kiss Kiss Goodbye
13. Luxembourg - Laura Thorn - La Poupée Monte Le Son
14. Israel - Yuval Raphael - New Day Will Rise
15. Serbia - Princ Mila
16. Finland - Erika Vikman - ICH KOMME

In addition with the pre-qualified finalists from France, Germany and United Kingdom will be introducing on stage their own entries without competing in this evening's show. 

Interval Acts

The former Eurovision entrants from the cancelled 2020 contest due to the covid-pandemic will grace the stage singing their entries that they didn't have the chance to perform back in 2020 in Rotterdam. Namely,  The Roop (Lithuania, On fire), Efendi (Azerbaijan, Cleopatra), Destiny (Malta, All of my love) and the Swiss hopeful  Gjon’s Tears (Switzerland, Répondez-moi).

Also following the announcement of the 10 qualifiers the host Sandra Studer will be giving a special inteptretation of 1990 Eurovision winner Insieme (Toto Cutugno, Italy) as closing act of the night. 

The results

The 10 qualifiers will be announced this evening is a different way from previous edition. Three countries will be highlighted at a time, with one announced as a qualifier and the other two left waiting. Each country can not be highlighted more than three times while the last qualifier will be anounced with all the reamainng six highlighted. It's going to be undoubntfully an super exciting night!

How to Watch

The first semi final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 will be aired live on several national broadcasters and on the official Youtube Eurovision channel from 21.00 CET.

News Source: Eurovoision.tv

Cover photo: EBU/eurovision.tv

As Eurovision week is unwinding , following last evening's Jury rehearsal show for the Semi Final 1 competing acts, tonight the Semi-final 1 LIve show will take place in St' Jakobshalle in Basel, Switzerland.

The story so far

Following Nemo's victory in Malmo with The Code, the contest returned back home to Switzerland where it was founded as the first edition took place back in Lugano in 1956.  37 years after it was time for  Lausanne 1989, host following the victory of Céline Dion with Ne partez pas sans moi. A total of 37 countries are set to take part in the 69th edition of the contest under the slogan of 'United by Music'.

Semi-final One show

From the 37 participating coutries the moemnt of truth for the first 15 countries has come with the first semi-final live show this evening. The rest 16 coutries will compete in the Semi-final 2 on Thursday while the Big-5 countries ( Germany, Italy, Spain, France and the United Kingdom) along with the hosting nation Sweden have pre-qualified for the Grand final. 

The Live Semi-Final One Show will be hosted by Swiss-American poet, comedian and presenter Hazel Brugger alongside with TV host Sandra Studer who represented the hosting nation at Eurovision 1991  finishing  fifth with the song "Canzone per te" ("A song for you"),

The 15 competing entries to take the stage this evening will compete in the following running order: 

1. Iceland – VÆB – RÓA
2. Poland – Justyna Steczkowska – GAJA
3. Slovenia – Klemen – How much time do we have left
4. Estonia – Tommy Cash – Espresso macchiato
5. Ukraine – Ziferblat – Bird of pray
6. Sweden – KAJ – Bara bada bastu
7. Portugal – NAPA – Deslocado
8. Norway – Kyle Alessandro – Lighter
9. Belgium – Red Sebastian – Strobe lights
10. Azerbaijan – Mamagama – Run with U
11. San Marino – Gabry Ponte – Tutta l’Italia
12. Albania – Shkodra Elektronike – Zjerm
13. Netherlands – Claude – C’est la vie
14. Croatia – Marko Bošnjak – Poison cake
15. Cyprus – Theo Evan – Shh

Notably the two of the Big-5 countries Spain and Italy and the hosting nation Switzerland will perform live on stage tonight their performances without of course competing in the show but will be able to vote. 

The Interval Acts

Eurovision Semi-final 1 show is set to treat us special moments with a very emotional tribute to Celine Dion tribute. In addition former Eurovision acts — Jerry Heil (Ukraine), Marina Satti (Greece), Iolanda (Portugal), and Silvester Belt (Lithuania) will deliver on stage united Celine's song Ne partez pas sans moi. 

The results

The 10 qualifiers will be announced this evening is a different way from previous edition. Three countries will be highlighted at a time, with one announced as a qualifier and the other two left waiting. Each country can not be highlighted more than three times while the last qualifier will be anounced with all the reamainng six highlighted. It's going to be undoubntfully an super exciting night!

How to Watch

The first semi final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 will be aired live on several national broadcasters and on the official Youtube Eurovision channel from 21.00 CET.

News Source: Eurovision.tv

Image: EBU/Corinne Cumming

As Eurovision week is unwinding ,this evening the Jury rehearsal show for the Semi Final 2 competing acts is taking place in St'Jakobshalle in Basel. Switzerland. 

The 16 competing acts will take the stage in addition with the pre-qualified finalists from France, Germany and United Kingdom. All acts will perform entries which will be watched by the 19 national juries.

The Jury show in the past edition was of significant importance as the jury votes counted as the 50% of the score with the rest 50% been deteremined by the televoting. Howerver, this no longer the case as the jury voting in the Semi-Finals since last year will only be used unless a valid audience vote has not been recorded or needs to serve as  a valid voting results.  

 Photo credit: EBU/Sarah Louise Bennett

This evening's juring show will not be broadcaster live or can the onsite press film any part of the show as it's exclusively aired for the national juriies and only the audience onsite will be the one to watch live. 

Dress rehearsal #1

Ahead of the jury show a Dress rehearsal is set for 15:30 CEST which is accessable to the press and will give one more opportunity to the competing acts to get even more prepared for tomorrow's live show.  

Rest of the World Voting

As like from last year's edition the Rest of the World fans will have a say in the outcome of the show. In order to sychronize the different time zones,  the Rest of the World online vote will open from the end of the Jury Show this evening. The vote will be open until the end of the voting window during the live broadcast of Semi-Final Two on May 15.

Fans from non participating countries will have the chance to cast their votes once the prewatch a clip of all of the cometing entries. 

Running order

Here is the running order for tonight's show:

1. Australia - Go-Jo - Milkshake Man
2. Montenegro - Nina Žižić - Dobrodošli
3. Ireland - EMMY - Laika Party
4. Latvia -Tautumeitas - Bur Man Laimi
5. Armenia -  PARG - SURVIVOR
6. Austria - JJ - Wasted Love
7. Greece - Klavdia - Asteromáta
8. Lithuania - Katarsis - Tavo Akys
9. Malta - Miriana Conte - SERVING
10. Georgia - Mariam Shengelia - Freedom
11. Denmark - Sissal  - Hallucination
12. Czechia - ADONXS - Kiss Kiss Goodbye
13. Luxembourg - Laura Thorn - La Poupée Monte Le Son
14. Israel - Yuval Raphael - New Day Will Rise
15. Serbia - Princ Mila
16. Finland - Erika Vikman - ICH KOMME

News Source: EBU/Eurovision.tv

Image: Sarah Louise Bennett/ cover photo: Eurofansradio

Following last evening's Jury rehearsal show for the Semi Final 1 competing acts, tonight the Semi-final 1 LIve show took place St's Jakobshalle in Basel, Switzerland  determining the first set of 10 qualifying entries to Saturday's Grand final show.

From the 37 participating coutries the first 15 countries competed in this evening's  first semi-final live show. The rest 16 coutries will compete in the Semi-final 2 on Thursday while the Big-5 countries ( Germany, Italy, Spain, France and the United Kingdom) along with the hosting nation Switzerland have pre-qualified for the Grand final. 

The Live Semi-Final One Show was hosted by Swiss-American poet, comedian and presenter Hazel Brugger alongside with TV host Sandra Studer who represented the hosting nation at Eurovision 1991  finishing  fifth with the song "Canzone per te" ("A song for you").

Opening Act

The Opening Act of this evening's show was the titled act 'Raw Nature'. 

Competing Performances

The competing part of the show unfolded in the following running order: 

Iceland – VÆB – RÓA

Poland – Justyna Steczkowska – GAJA

Slovenia – Klemen – How much time do we have left

Estonia – Tommy Cash – Espresso macchiato

Ukraine – Ziferblat – Bird of pray

Sweden – KAJ – Bara bada bastu

Portugal – NAPA – Deslocado

Norway – Kyle Alessandro – Lighter

Belgium – Red Sebastian – Strobe lights

Azerbaijan – Mamagama – Run with U

San Marino – Gabry Ponte – Tutta l’Italia

Albania – Shkodra Elektronike – Zjerm

Netherlands – Claude – C’est la vie

Croatia – Marko Bošnjak – Poison cake

Cyprus – Theo Evan – Shh

Big-5 and Swiss performances

Notably the two of the Big-5 countries the Spain and Italy along with the hosting nation Switzerland performed live on stage tonight their performances a change that has been introduced in last year's edition. Spain performed after the 4th competing act, Italy at .... positiion while the Swiss delegate got on stage just before the last 15th competing act.  

Spain - Melody - Esa Diva

Italy - Lucio Corsi - Volvevo Essere Un Duro

Switzerland - Zoe Me - Voyage

Interval Act

Once the performances were completed the show featured as interval act a special tribute to Celine Dion and her iconic victory back in 1988 with her addressing a special message to the audience.  A very emotional moment hit the screen with Jerry Heil (Ukraine), Marina Satti (Greece), Iolanda (Portugal), and Silvester Belt (Lithuania) delivering on stage united Celine's song Ne partez pas sans moi. 

In addition with the contribution of the iconic former iconic Eurovision Petra Mede a special interval act unfolded on stage present the famous things Switzerland has invented over history. A very catchy and joyful act as we were watitng for the votes to come in. 

Rest of the World Voting

Int this year's edition the Rest of the World fans will have a say in the outcome of the show. In order to sychronize the different time zones,  the Rest of the World online vote opened from the end of the Jury Show the previous evening from the live show. The vote wias open until the end of the voting window during the live broadcast of Semi-Final One.

Fans from non participating countries had the chance to cast their votes once they prewatched a clip of all of the cometing entries. 

The results

A total of 10 qualifiers made it to Saturday's Grand final show they are: 

The analytical results of the semifinals will be released after the Grand final show late Saturday night. On Thursday the second semi-final follows with 16 countries taking the stage to compete for the last 10 spots in the Grand final. 

 News Source/ Videos: Eurovision.tv

As Eurovision week is unwinding ,this evening the Jury rehearsal show for the Semi Final 1 competing acts will take place in St'Jakobshalle in Basel. Switzerland. 

The 15 competing acts will take the stage in addition with the pre-qualified finalists from Italy, Spain and the host nation Switzerland. All acts will perform entries which will be watched by the 18 national juries.

The Jury show in the past edition was of significant importance as the jury votes counted as the 50% of the score with the rest 50% been deteremined by the televoting. Howerver, this no longer the case as the jury voting in the Semi-Finals like last year will only be used unless a valid audience vote has not been recorded or needs to serve as  a valid voting results.  

Photo credit: EBU/Sarah Louise Bennett

This evening's juring show will not be broadcaster live or can the onsite press film any part of the show as it's exclusively aired for the national juriies. 

Dress rehearsal #1

Ahead of the jury show a Dress rehearsal is set for 15:30 CEST which is accessable to the press and will give one more opportunity to the competing acts to get even more prepared for tomorrow's live show.  

Rest of the World Voting

As like from last year's edition the Rest of the World fans will have a say in the outcome of the show. In order to sychronize the different time zones,  the Rest of the World online vote will open from the end of the Jury Show this evening. The vote will be open until the end of the voting window during the live broadcast of Semi-Final One on May 13.

Fans from non participating countries will have the chance to cast their votes once the prewatch a clip of all of the cometing entries. 

Running order

Here is the running order for tonight's show:

1. Iceland – VÆB – RÓA
2. Poland – Justyna Steczkowska – GAJA
3. Slovenia – Klemen – How much time do we have left
4. Estonia – Tommy Cash – Espresso macchiato
5. Ukraine – Ziferblat – Bird of pray
6. Sweden – KAJ – Bara bada bastu
7. Portugal – NAPA – Deslocado
8. Norway – Kyle Alessandro – Lighter
9. Belgium – Red Sebastian – Strobe lights
10. Azerbaijan – Mamagama – Run with U
11. San Marino – Gabry Ponte – Tutta l’Italia
12. Albania – Shkodra Elektronike – Zjerm
13. Netherlands – Claude – C’est la vie
14. Croatia – Marko Bošnjak – Poison cake
15. Cyprus – Theo Evan – Shh

News Source: EBU/Eurovision.tv

Image: Eurofansradio

Good afternoon Europe and Australia!.....This is  calling!! Eurovision 2025 week is about to officially kick off with the Turquoise Carpet set to take place at 13:45 CEST at the Basel Messe in the center of Basel. 

The carpet has been unrolled, the lights are set and here come the Eurovision stars of 2025, as the  Eurovision shows week is about to start with the Opening Ceremony and the Turquoise Carpet ready to mark the primary week of the 69th Eurovision Song Contest here in Basel, Switzerland.

The location

The 2025 Turquoise Carpet will see the 37 competing acts making their way from the City's Town Hall Basel Rathaus  to the Market Square, to board after on vintage trams that take them to the Basel Messe. Final destination will be the grand Eurovision Village stage where an audience will be expecting them. 

What to see during the Turquoise Carpet

The delegations that have travelled to Basel will have their moment to shine in their elegant formal outfits, as they take the walk along the carpet. 

During the Turquoise event,  the 37 competing acts fo the 69th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest will be able to meet and greet the present press media outlets. 

In addtion, at the opening ceremony, the Mayor of Basel and officials from the hosting broadcaster, SRG-SSR,  the City of Basel and Switzerland will officially welcome the 37 delegations and the competing acts marking the beginning of the Eurovision 2025 week. 

How to Watch 

You can watch the Turquoise Carpet live at 13:45 CEST  on the official Eurovision Youtube Channel: 

News Source: Eurovision.tv

Image:sleachmouradventures.blogspot.com

Day 8 for rehearsal in Basel's St' Jakobshalle arena and the Big-5 countries (France, Spain, Italy, UK, Germany) along with the host nation, Switzerland closed this year's rehearsal week with their second rehearsals. 

Tomorrow the Opening Ceremony will be taking place with the Turqouise Carpet kicking of the main Eurovision week with the dress rehearsals and the three live shows. 

Take a look at the 30 sec snippets EBU released for the second rehearsals of the Big-5 and host nation:

Germany : Abor & Tynna - "Baller" 

France : Louane - "Maman" 

United Kingdom : Remember Monday - "What the Hell Just Happened?" 

Switzerland: Zoë Më - "Voyage" 

Italy: Lucio Corsi - "Volevo essere un duro" 

Spain: Melody - "Esa Diva"

News/Videos Source: Eurovision Youtube Channel/Facebook Account

Cover photo: EBU/ Sarah Louise Bennett

The second set of semi-final delegates return to the stage in St' Jakobshalle for their second rehearsal. For the second rehearsal EBU has released a 30 second video footage released. 

Thus here are the second rehearsals for the rest seven Semi-final #2 countries. Watch the 30 second footage released by EBU on the official Eurovision Youtube Channel by clicking on the underlined song titles below:

Georgia: Mariam Shengelia - "Freedom"

While the second rehearsals for the semifinal countries are already completed for the first semifinal and underway for the second, it was time for the Big-5 and Switzerland to kick off their rehearsal here in Basel. 

Like the past few years, no media representative is permitted to view or access any individual artist rehearsals: Media representatives will not be able to view or access any individual artist rehearsals taking place between Saturday 3 May and Saturday 10 May either at the arena or in the Online Media Centre. This is to allow all artists to rehearse in private and the production to perfect each performance before it is seen in full when dress rehearsals begin on Monday 12 May.

Unlike previous years, there will be no video footage uploaded from the first rehearsals but only first look photos on the next day by EBU and the broadcasters. This was the case for the Big-5 countries and Swtizerland too. 

Abor & Tynna - "Baller"

Germany’s Abor & Tynna are bringing a bop song on stage this year, with the entry 'Baller'. The two siblings  come from Vienna and it the first time since 2007 the German entry is in national language.

Their staging features a huge high prop – an 80s-style boombox stereo with a central platform where Tynna performs on. They have four backing dancers on stage.

Tynna is wears a black military-style hotpants and knee-high military boots, a black crop top and elbow-length  leather gloves. As the song progresses to the second part  Tynna dances on the walkway while Abor plays his cello on top of the boombox as we can see in the posted picture above. 

Louane - "Maman"

 Up next from the Big-5 countries is France's Louane with her power ballad song 'Maman'. Louane rose to fame after her amazing vocal skills showcased in The Voice about a decade before. 

The song talks about the stages in life where a child becomes a daughter and a woman becomes a mother, all looked into from Louane's prespective. There’s a circle in the middle of the stage that’s covered with sand. Louane delivers her performance spotlit inside this circle.

As Reddit is reporting from the Frech delegation: 

On stage, the sand falls—grain by grain, like time slipping through an hourglass. It’s more than a performance. It’s a reminder: time moves fast, and every moment counts.

Maman is about love, loss, and the strength to move forward. The hourglass becomes a symbol of life itself—the cycle, the urgency, the beauty of now. Through the pain, Louane delivers one clear message: no matter what we face, we can always rise. And while the sand keeps falling, we must live—fully.”

Remember Monday - "What the Hell Just Happened?"

United Kingdom's delegates took next to the stage for their first rehearsal. This year the UK has brought to Basel the trio Remember Monday formed by Lauren, Holly-Anne and Charlotte. The vocal trio is delivering on stage the song What The Hell Just Happened? 

As Reddit is reporting from the UK's delegation the staging is described as following:

“It's the morning after the night before. We reveal Remember Monday in a Regency style boudoir reflecting on the events of the previous evening.

As the first chorus hits we pull out and with a burst of movement the girls progress down the catwalk taking us back to the chaos of the previous evening.

On the main stage is a giant chandelier that has crashed down to earth. The chandelier is a striking reminder of the chaotic antics of the night before. The energy then builds before the stage plunges into darkness – leaving the chaos in its wake, the lights return and the girls re-emerge in the safety of the boudoir for a final sweet moment.

The trio appear on stage pretty much with the style look we saw in the offcial music video, with  corseted dress style and Lauren in pale blue, Holly-Anne in pink and Charlotte in yellow, with lots of sparkles.

Zoë Më - "Voyage"

 It was time for the host nation to take the stage for their own first rehearsal, which brings the Swiss delegate Zoë Më on stage to deliver her melodic entry 'Voyage'.

Zoe will be performing on home ground literally as she was born in Basel. Her song is in Franch one of the two languages - the other is German- she performs her songs in. 

Reddit is reproting from Switzerland’s Creative Director Theo Adams the following enlightening description of the song's staging: 

"Switzerland’s Zoë Më presents “Voyage” as a three-minute, unbroken moment of cinematic intimacy. The performance unfolds in a single continuous handheld shot, with no cuts, no dancers, no choreography, no set pieces, no props, no LED screen content, and no fireworks. It focuses entirely on Zoë’s presence, unfolding in a quiet, concentrated world built on emotional detail.

The image is soft and expressive, filmed on a full-frame cinema camera using the exact same Zeiss Super Speed lenses from the 1970s that were used to shoot films like Taxi Driver and Raging Bull. These lenses create blooming highlights, delicate flares, and a shallow depth of field that gently isolates Zoë in the frame. She begins seated, surrounded by infinite black and sculptural lighting that gives the performance the feeling of a Caravaggio painting.

She wears an off-the-shoulder black silk dress by Rowanne Studio, printed with abstract florals in deep reds, purples, and blues. The camera moves closely around her, capturing shifts between connection and introspection without interruption. Operated entirely by hand, it carries a natural, breathing quality that responds in real time to Zoë’s energy and presence. The result is a continuous flow of quiet, detailed observation. Intimate, immediate, and unfiltered.

At the bridge, the atmosphere ruptures. Smoke, wind, and stark, overexposed flashes interrupt the stillness. But the camera never cuts. It tilts, circles, and responds to the rupture with a visceral sense of motion, remaining closely attuned to Zoë throughout. As the intensity subsides, the audience slowly comes into view, their phone lights glowing like stars around Zoë, before everything dissolves back into the infinite black where it began.

Voyage is a performance built on restraint and cinematic precision. It uses the scale of the Eurovision stage in a different way, drawing all attention to Zoë and the emotion she carries in every frame. Nothing distracts. Nothing interrupts. Just one voice, one presence, and a moment that feels deeply personal."

There's not much more to say than Switzerland is bringing again on stage one more sensational poetic ballad song!

Lucio Corsi - "Volevo essere un duro"

 The Sanremo 2025 winner from Italy is the next contestant on stage with Lucio Corsi rehearsing for the first time his rock ballad song Volevo Essere Un Duro. Lucio is a 31-year-old singer-songwriter, originally from Tuscany but now based in Milan.

Lucio's song talks about those who feel different or struggle with their identity while it's title translates in English as 'I wanted to be tough'. 

The staging is pretty much close to the one we saw in Sanremo with Lucio at a very long piano, wearing a giant-shouldered bolero jacket that looks like the yellow one he wore in the official video. The whole set up along with the colors make the whole performance vintage taking us back the 70's. According to Reddit a sepia filter applied for the TV screen version will make the 70's nostalgic feeling more intense.  

Melody - "Esa Diva"

 Closing the first rehearsals of the Big-5 countries is Spain's Melody with 'Esa Diva'. Melody won Benidorm fest back in January and is now brigning the part in Basel with her super dance entry. 

Melody has five in total, three male, two female backing dancers, while she appears on stage wearing black corseted bodice with pointy bits on the shoulders and the hips.

From the firsr look we understand Melody is going to deliver on St Jakobshalle stage a powerful energetic performance. 

 The rehearsals will continue in Day 7 with the rest semi-final 2 nations making their second rehearsals. 

News Source: Reddit/eurovision

Images: EBU/ @eurovision Instagram account

With the first round of rehearsals for the two semi-finals participants completed  and following the second rehearsals for the first semi final countreis, the rehearsal week moved on with the second rehearsals for 9 out of 16 participatiing countries and  the first rehearsal for the Big 5 countries and the host nation. 

The second semi-final delegates return to the stage in St' Jakobshalle for their second rehearsal along with the Big 5 countries and the host nation for their own first rehearsal.  For the second rehearsal EBU has released a 30 second video footage released. 

Thus here are the second rehearsals for the Semi-final two countries. Watch the 30 second footage released by EBU on the official Eurovision Youtube Channel by clicking on the underlined song titles below:

Australia: Go-Jo - "Milkshake Man"

Montenegro: Nina Žižić - "Dobrodošli"

Ireland: Emmy - "Laika Party"

Latvia: Tautumeitas - "Bur man laimi"

Armenia: Parg - "Survivor"

Austria: JJ - "Wasted Love"

Greece: Klavdia - "Asteromata"

Lithuania: Katarsis - "Tavo akys"

Malta: Miriana Conte - "Serving"

News Source: Reddit/eurovision

Videos Source: Eurovision Youtube Channel

With the first round of rehearsals for the two semi-finals participants the rehearsal week move on with the second rehearsals and the first rehearsal for the Big 5 countries and the host nation. 

The first semi-final delegates return to the stage in St' Jakobshalle for their second rehearsal this time with a 30 second video footage released. 

Thus here are the second rehearsals for the Semi-final One countries. Watch the 30 second footage released by EBU on the official Eurovision Youtube Channel by clicking on the underlined song titles below:

Iceland: VÆB – "Róa"

Poland: Justyna Steczkowska – "Gaja" 

Slovenia: Klemen – "How Much Time Do We Have Left"

Estonia: Tommy Cash – "Espresso Macchiato"

Ukraine: Ziferblat – "Bird of Pray"

Sweden: KAJ – "Bara Bada Bastu"

Portugal: NAPA – "Deslocado"

Norway: Kyle Alessandro - "Lighter"

Belgium: Red Sebastian - "Strobe Lights"

Azerbaijan: Mamagama - "Run With U"

San Marino: Gabry Ponte - "Tutta l'Italia"

Albania: Shkodra Elektronike - "Zjerm"

Netherlands: Claude - "C'est La Vie"

Croatia: Marko Bošnjak – "Poison Cake"

Cyprus: Theo Evan - "Shh"

News/Videos Source: Eurovision Yourtube Channel

Photo cover: EBU/ Sarah Louise Bennett

Following the first set of semi-final 2 countries which completed their first run of rehearsals , it was time for the 2nd group of  semi-final 2 nations  for their own first rehearsal in Day 4. 

Similar to past few years, no media representative is permitted to view or access any individual artist rehearsals: Media representatives will not be able to view or access any individual artist rehearsals taking place between Saturday 3 May and Saturday 10 May either at the arena or in the Online Media Centre. This is to allow all artists to rehearse in private and the production to perfect each performance before it is seen in full when dress rehearsals begin on Monday 12 May.

Unlike previous years, there will be no video footage uploaded from the first rehearsals. Excerpts from each country second rehearsals are expected to be shared on Eurovision's YouTube or other digital channels.

The eight semi-final #2 countries to make their first rehearsal on May 6 were: 

Malta: Miriana Conte – SERVING

 The rehearsals opened with Malta's Miriana Conte on stage for her first rehearsal of 'Serving'. Miriana made her way to Basel after winning the Maltese national final of Malta Eurovision Song Contest. The young artist is familiar to the audience as he had attempted to represent Malta back in 2017 at the age of 16. 

Miriana will be certainly Serving us an electifying performance in Basel. A set of huge sparkling red lips holding a spinning disco ball placed in the centre of the stage . We get to see again the catsuit that we saw at MESC, but now it's black and red and super sparkly.

Georgia: Mariam Shengelia – Freedom

 photo credit: EBU/Alma Bengtsson

Georgia’s Mariam Shengalia, singing her power ballad Freedom took to the stage for her first rehearsal. She took part in both The X Factor Georgia and The Voice Georgia. She’s also a member of Mixtura, a band of diverse musical influences. 

She appears on stage wearing a stunning silver gown that looks like it’s made from satin with layers. Four male dancers join her on stage, all wearing traditional Georgian chokha coats in black paired with black boots. In the last chorus she steps out of her dress revealing a a red sequinned jumpsuit. 

Denmark: Sissal – Hallucination

 Next delegate to take the stage was Denmark’s Sissal to rehearse her Eurodance song Hallucination. She booked her spot in the Eurovision 2025 class by winning the Danish national final Dansk Melodi Grand Prix. Sissal lives in Copenhagen but is originally from Thorshavn in the Faroe Islands.

This time Sissal presents us a different stage set up that the one on the national final. Back in Dansk Melodi Grand Prix she appeared in a green sparkly leotard, accompanied by two contemporary dancers now she initially wears a fabulous blue and white coat with hundreds layers to reveal after the first chorus a long-sleeved leotard and high boots all in electric blue color while the backing dancers are now four. 

Czechia: ADONXS – Kiss Kiss Goodbye

Czechia’s ADONXS was up next to perform his dramatic ballad Kiss Kiss Goodbye. ADONXS ahas also worked as a professional dancer and model besides music. He booked his spot in Basel after an internal selection in Czechia. 

 Adonxs appears on stage in silver wide-legged trousers, with a white top that’s like a vest, but with sleeves and white gloves. Four dancers in matching outfits join Adonx on stage. 

The Czech delegation shared the following about their staging to Reddit/eurovision: 

“The main focus of this performance is Adonxs’ stage presence, vocals and charm. It’s a clean, elegant concept that fully embraces the possibilities offered by the Eurovision stage, using the latest lighting technology to create effects that create waves and evoke the movie Inception.

The dance break and choreography have evolved for the Eurovision TV audience, creating an emotional, engaging and visually mesmerizing experience for both the viewers at home and the audience in the arena.”

Luxembourg: Laura Thorn – La Poupée Monte Le Son

 25-year-old Laura Thorn from Luxembourg rehearsed next bringing in Basel the a fun, up-tempo French bop, La Poupée Monte Le Son translates as ‘the doll turns up the sound’. The song is  a throwback and a sequel to Poupée de cire, poupée de son, the legendary song that won Eurovision for Luxembourg’s France Gall back in 1965.

She made it to Basel after winning the national final in Luxembourg at the end of January. The staging is pretty much like the Doll concept, with male dancers 60s-style motion with puppet references we saw in the national final of Luxembourg Eurovision Song Contest, but elevated with the use of huge LEDs.

Israel: Yuval Raphael – New Day Will Rise

 Up next is the Israeli delegate Yuval Raphael, with her ballad song New Day Will Rise, which includes lyrics in English, French and Hebrew. Yuval is 24 and comes from Ra’anana near Tel Aviv. She achieved to book her ticket to Basel after winning the Israeli talent show of HaKokhav HaBa (Rising Star) which was used to determine the country's representative. 

Her staging features an impressive  circular structure with a curved staircase on one side. It s gets more narrowed from bottom to the top while a glittering curtain of silver strands hang from the bars all the way up as they form the circular frame of the structure. 

Yuval herself is wearing a tailored black trouser suit with square shoulders and flamenco-like sleeves. The outfit, the gian prop along with the use of LEDs treat us with one of the most powerful images we have seen in the rehearsal so far. 

Serbia: Princ – Mila

 Serbia’s Princ, and his love song Mila took to the stage next. Princ play guitar and drums. He's fronted a rock band, was a finalist on The Voice Bulgaria. He's no stranger to the Eurovision audience as he attempted to represent the nation back in 2023 but missed out as he came second behind Luke Black’s Samo Mi Se Spava.

He’s wearing a tailored red suit while his  three male dancers are in black outfits .The moves of the backing dancers along with the interaction with Princ give us a bit of dramatic tone on stage while the use of LEDs and dry ice reinforce the dramatic sense of the interpretation. 

Finland: Erika Vikman – ICH KOMME

Last but not least for the day is Finland's Erika Vikman with her 'Ich komme' . She is a well established artist in Finland and who can forget the song Cicciolina she brought at the UMK national final back in 2020. 

She’s wearing a different version of the black latex outfit with thigh boots we saw at UMK, this time with more leather and metallic studs on the waist combined with long black gloves. She delivers the song solo without any backing dancers featuring her staging. 

Rehearsals progress tomorrow to Day 5 with the semi-final 1 countries returning for their second rehearsals.

News Source: Reddit/eurovision

Images: EBU/ @eurovision Instagram

Cover photo: EBU/Corinne Cumming

Following the first semi-final 1 countries which completed their first run of rehearsals , it was time for the second semi-final 2 nations  for their own first rehearsal in Day 3. 

Like the past few years, no media representative is permitted to view or access any individual artist rehearsals: Media representatives will not be able to view or access any individual artist rehearsals taking place between Saturday 3 May and Saturday 10 May either at the arena or in the Online Media Centre. This is to allow all artists to rehearse in private and the production to perfect each performance before it is seen in full when dress rehearsals begin on Monday 12 May.

Unlike previous years, there will be no video footage uploaded from the first rehearsals. Excerpts from each country second rehearsals are expected to be shared on Eurovision's YouTube or other digital channels.

The eight semi-final #2 countries to make their first rehearsal on May 5 were: 

Australia: Go-Jo – Milkshake Man

photo credit: EBU/Sarah-Louise Bennett

Opening the rehearsal on Day 3 was Go-Jo, the creation of Australian artist Marty Zambotto. Go-Jo has lefft his mark in the artistic world been the 9th most streamed Australian artist in the world. 

He made to Basel through an internal selection which assigned to him to represent the land down under with the song 'Milshake Man'.  Go-Jo in a very 70s-style white suit with a red-striped collar and a red cravat gives us a performance to remember. He is joined by two dancers in red and white striped dress. 

The stage is dominated by multi explosion of colors and graphics combined with the use of neon lights. A joyful performance which will bring the audience standing on their feet to dance.

Montenegro: Nina Žižić – Dobrodošli

photo credit: EBU/Sarah-Louise Bennett

Next up Montenegro with Nina Žižić , a singer and songwriter who has epxrienced the Eurovision stage in Malmö  contributing vocally to the Montenegrin dubstep spacemen Who See back  in 2013 in Malmö.

She is bringing to Basel here power ballad song Dobrodošli,  with obvious Balkan influences and herself dresssed in a very structured white dress with an eye mask. However the going into the chorus  the white dress now has a huge white train and a circular shaped fabric structure goes around here head down to the hight of ther knees. 

Extensive use of the spotlights focusing on Nina's interpretation in the middle of the stage. 

Ireland: EMMY – Laika Party

photo credit: EBU/Sarah-Louise Bennett

Norwegian singer Emmy, is representing Ireland this year treating us with some 00s-style Europop with a song about Soviet dog Laika, the first dog to orbit the earth back in 1957.

Emmy is bringing the party in St' Jakobshalle with 'Laika Party' which she delivers on stage on a shiny metal platform in the centre of the stage with her brother Erlend on keyboards at stage level in front, wearing a metallic silver shirt and his trademark star-shaped shades. She is been joined by four female dancers wearing silver trousers and black/silver vests.

Latvia: Tautumeitas – Bur Man Laimi

photo credit: EBU/Sarah-Louise Bennett

Latvia’s Tautumeitas, an ethno-pop group consisted of six memebers and influenced by Latvian folk melodies combined with contemporary sounds, is next up for rehearsal. Their song  Bur Man Laimi translates as 'a chant for happiness'  and  delivers on stage the song in the same way we watched it in the Supernova national final.

Their costumes have chabged form the national final– instead of the floaty dresses we saw at Supernova, Tautumeitas are all wearing matching gold catsuits with detailing that looks like branches and fins, and stunning gold headdresses that light up and change colour through the song. 

Armenia: PARG – SURVIVOR photo credit: EBU/Corinne Cumming

 Pargev Vardanian, who is an Armenian indie-folk, R ’n’ B, pop and rock artist is representing Armenia this year with the song 'Survivor'. He made his way to the Eurvision stage after winning the national final of Depi Evratesil. 

He delivers his song bringing along new elements from those in the national final. PARG’s costume – the one-shouldered armour has gone, replaced by a black vest and studded black leather trouser. The performance is different from the national final, with more darker and industrial effects than the rock/pillar formation.  

Austria: JJ – Wasted Love

 photo credit: EBU/Corinne Cumming

  Austria’s JJ, aka Johannes Pietsch from Vienna is up next for his first reeharsal of 'Wasteed Love'. 

The central prop is a simple boat that looks like it’s been made from packing crates, with a wooden mast and a white sail - JJ performs in the boat for the whole of the performance. Right at the end, as an overhead camera shot makes it look like the boat is being sucked into a vortex on the LED floor, a huge lighthouse appears on the main LED with all this giving a dramatic but also promising atmosphere to the staging. If you take into account the exceptional vocall skills of JJ you don 't wonder why he's one of the favorites to win this year's contest. 

Greece: Klavdia – Asteromáta

photo credit: EBU/Corinne Cumming

 Klavdia from Greece is bringing in Basel her 'Asteromata' which translates in more loose termis as ‘little starry-eyed one. Klavdia made it to the 2025 class after winning the national final back in January. Asteromata is a song referring to seperation and reallocation as  results of painful displacements. 

Klavidia's team explains about the song:

“Klavdia begins her appearance on the Eurovision stage standing on a pier. Her movement toward a rock symbolizes the fiery journey each person undertakes to the Light.

The presence of a second person on stage, along with the movement of the set, reflects the theme of separation - the central message of the song "Asteromata".

During her performance she uses a rock of the season as a central prop, and once Klavdia has walked along the pier in the quiet opening verse, she performs the rest of the song on top of it.

Lithuania: Katarsis – Tavo Akys

Lithuania’s Katarsis, a Lithuanian band who consist od 4 acts are  known for their unique dark alternative and punk music. Katarsis made it to Basel after winning the Lithuanian national selection. 

The staging remains l pretty much the same as in the national final performance with the blue outfits, the bleak landscape, the exploding house and the flying rocks in the national final. However the use of bigger LED screen behind and the bigger scale graphics make the performance more impressive. 

The rehearsals continue tomorrow with Day #4 and the second set artists from Semi-final 2 taking the stage for their first run of rehearsals. 

Following the first six semi-final 1 countries completing their first run of rehearsals , the second set of eight nations took over for their own first rehearsal in Day 2. 

Like the past few years, no media representative is permitted to view or access any individual artist rehearsals: Media representatives will not be able to view or access any individual artist rehearsals taking place between Saturday 3 May and Saturday 10 May either at the arena or in the Online Media Centre. This is to allow all artists to rehearse in private and the production to perfect each performance before it is seen in full when dress rehearsals begin on Monday 12 May.

Unlike previous years, there will be no video footage uploaded from the first rehearsals. Excerpts from each country second rehearsals are expected to be shared on Eurovision's YouTube or other digital channels.

The eight semi-final #1 countries to make their first rehearsal on May 4 were: 

Norway: Kyle Alessandro – Lighter 

photo credit: EBU/Sarah-Louise Bennett

 19-year-old Kyle Alessandro from Norway, who is rehearsing his song Lighter opened rehearsal Day 2 in Basel. He’s a singer, songwriter and producer from Steinkjer in Trøndelag.

Kyle's stage set up includes the the prop with the two stone pillars and the steps that we saw in Melodi Grand Prix national final. However we have the addition the big LED screen in Basel and an extensive use of lightings. His costume seem like the one he was wearing in the national final performance. 

Belgium: Red Sebastian – Strobe Light

photo credit: EBU/Sarah-Louise Bennett

Time for some rave vibes as Red Sebastian from Belgium appeared next ofr his first rehearsal of Strobe Lights. He rouse to fame as a finalist   on Belgium’s Got Talent way back in 2014 and made it to Basel after winning the Eurosong national final. 

He appears on stage wearing a costume is very similar to the red PVC suit with triangular shoulders he wore in the offcial video and his performance features a combination of spectacular  lighting and graphics. He;s accompanied on stage by three backing dancers which wear matching outfits with black accents. 

Azerbaijan: Mamagama - Run With U

photo credit: EBU/Sarah-Louise Bennett

 Azerbaijan’s Mamagama, with Asef, Hasan and Arif singing Run With You was the third act to rehearse. They came in Basel as a result of an internal selection held by ITV. Ramrkable is the bands cultural background as it consists of one Azerbaijani a Jewis and an Arabic act. 

The apperar in stage  in  black leather suits with red accents, with Asef and Hasan wearing different styles of jacket, and Arif’s top is sleeveless and he need to perform on the drums. They are joined on stage by  three dancers in sparkly black and red catsuits. 

The LED behind displays  animated shadow dancers that go along with the motion of the backing dancers while the performance unfold in the center of the stage. The interpretation of the song reflects a strong dose of Azerbaijan tradition in the sections after the chorus when lead singer Asef plays the saz, which is a traditional long-necked lute.

San Marino: Gabry Ponte – Tutta L’Italia

photo credit: EBU/Corinne Cumming

Next up came San Marino, and the internationally accliamed DJ Gabry Ponte with Tutta L’Italia. Ponte is no stranger to the audience as he was the act behind the massive international hit of Blue (Da Ba Dee) by Eiffel 6 back in 1999. Also he was one of the songwriters of the Austrian entry Halo by LUM!X feat. Pia Maria in 2022. 

Gabry himself is wearing a silver jacket, while the backdrop features pulsing lights and  and graffiti on the LED wall. Two instrumentalists who play the accordion and the tambourine accompany him on stage. 

Albania: Shkodra Elektronike – Zjerm

photo credit: EBU/Corinne Cumming

Albania’s Shkodra Elektronike rehearsed next. Songwriter and producer Kolë Laca and singer and songwriter Beatriçe Gjergji  are the ones to form this duo which  won Festival ii Këngës last December with Zjerm.

Beatriçe is still in red, but not in the same dress she was wearing in the national final of Festival ii Këngës . Now she’s wearing a dress of red crepe satin with sparkle on the bodice.  Kolë is wearing a double breasted military jack.

The song itsfel has gone through a  complete revamp. Red and black  re still the dominating colour combined with with geometric shapes on the LED backdrop.

Netherlands: Claude – C’est La Vie

photo credit: EBU/Sarah-Louise Bennett

Next up for first rehearsal is the Dutch delegate, singer-songwriter Claude singing  C’est La Vie. He has scored high streaming numbers both in The Netherlands and Belgium and he secured his spot in the ESC class of 2025 selected internally by the Dutch broadcaster. 

His song is in French - along with other 5 songs in this year's contest. Claude appears in a purple suit with pearl detail while his accompanied on stage by two contemporary dancers in motion around him. 

Croatia: Marko Bošnjak – Poison Cake

photo credit: EBU/Corinne Cumming

Croatia’s Marko Bošnjak first rehearsal of his song Poison Cake is the next on schedule. The 20 years old artist is a stone throw away from releasing his debut album. He made his was to Basel after winning the Croatian national final with his genre- defying song 'Poison Cake'. 

Marko’s black outfit with the pointy shoulders has been replaced with a full-length cape with fur around the shoulders. He is joined by four backing dancers dress in  matching blue and white outfits with frills and ribbon. As the song progresses to the end sheds his cape to reveal a matching blue and white shirt.

The staging in dominated by dramatic lighting along with red and green storm clouds and flames which make the whole scenery dramatic. 

Cyprus: Theo Evan – Shh

Closing rehearsal of the day was that of Cyprus' representative, Theo Evans who his brining in Basel 'Shh'. Theo was born in Nicosia, and he’s been a singer and dancer since he was 7. He was interanally selected by CyBC to represent the mediterranean state island with 'Shh'.

Cyprus delegation describes Theo’s performance as follows: “Two scaffolding towers are placed on stage, and the performance opens with Theo Evan and the two dancers forming the shape of a mysterious figure referenced in the lyrics - a silhouette that will be immediately recognisable.

As the performance unfolds, the towers shift positions to create different formations. Theo and his four dancers incorporate them seamlessly into the choreography. Stunning visuals and dynamic lighting enhance each movement, adding depth and intensity to the staging.”

The scenery featute black and white colors which turn to red and then switch again to black and white. The Choreograhy at some points forms the Vitruvian Man of Leonardo Da Vinci, possibly one of the most strong and impressive images released so far in the reaharsals. We can 't wait to see more of Theo's talent unfolding on stage. 

The rehearsals continue tomorow at Basel's St Jakobshalle Arena with the first reeharsals for the semi-final 2 countries. 

News Source: reddit.com/eurovision