Lights, camera, glitter ball: The Eurovision Song Contest reaches its
grand final
[May 17, 2025]
By JILL LAWLESS
BASEL, Switerland (AP) — The world’s largest live music event has
reached its glitter-drenched conclusion with the grand final on Saturday
of the Eurovision Song Contest, a celebration of music and unity ruffled
by discord over Israel’s participation.
A trio singing for Sweden about the joys of saunas and a classically
trained Austrian countertenor are among those tipped to take the
microphone-shaped Eurovision trophy at the contest in Basel,
Switzerland.
But at the ever-unpredictable event, the prize could just as easily go
to powerful singers from France, the Netherlands or Finland — or even an
Estonian who sings about Italian coffee. The final kicks off at 9 p.m.
local time.
Bookmakers say the favorite is KAJ, representing Sweden with their ode
to sauna culture “Bara Bada Bastu,” followed by Austrian singer JJ’s
pop-opera song “Wasted Love.”
French chanteuse Louane has risen up the odds with “maman,” as has Dutch
singer Claude with soulful ballad “C’est La Vie” and Finland’s Erika
Vikman with the innuendo-laden “Ich Komme.” Estonia’s Tommy Cash is also
a contender with his highly caffeinated dance-pop song “Espresso
Macchiato.”
Israel’s Yuval Raphael has won many fans with her anthemic “New Day Will
Rise,” but also faced protests from pro-Palestinian demonstrators
calling for Israel to be kicked out of the contest over its conduct of
the war against Hamas in Gaza.
Acts from 26 countries — trimmed from 37 entrants through two
elimination semifinals — will perform to some 160 million viewers for
the continent’s pop crown. No smoke machine, jet of flame or dizzying
light display has been spared by musicians who are given 3 minutes to
make their mark.
Dean Vuletic, an expert on the history of Eurovision, said the
competition has become more diverse over the years, both musically and
linguistically. There are songs in 20 languages this year, including
Ukrainian, Icelandic, Albanian, Latvian and Maltese.
“In the past it was about having a catchy, innocuous pop song, usually
in English,” he said. But in the past decade “we’ve seen songs become
much more socially and politically engaged, songs that present the
audience with some sort of meaning."
“In recent years the formulaic approach to a Eurovision entry hasn’t
succeeded," he added. "An entry needs to be memorable and it needs to be
authentic in order to succeed these days.”
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KAJ from Sweden performs the song "Bara Bada Bastu" during the dress
rehearsal for the Grand Final of the 69th Eurovision Song Contest,
in Basel, Switzerland, Friday, May 16 2025. (AP Photo/Martin
Meissner)
 This year’s contest has been roiled
for a second year by disputes over Israel’s participation. Dozens of
former participants, including last year’s winner Nemo of
Switzerland, have called for Israel to be excluded.
Pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel protests have both taken place in
Basel, though on a much smaller scale than at last year’s event in
Sweden, where tensions spilled over backstage and Dutch competitor
Joost Klein was expelled over an alleged altercation with a crew
member.
The European Broadcasting Union or EBU, which runs Eurovision,
subsequently tightened the contest’s code of conduct, calling on
participants to respect Eurovision’s values of “universality,
diversity, equality and inclusivity” and its political neutrality.
Performers say the backstage vibe this year is more relaxed.
After a controversial ban in 2024 on flags, apart from national
ones, being waved in the arena, this year audience members can bring
Palestinian flags or any others, as long as they are legal under
Swiss law. Performers, though, can only wave their own country’s
flag.
Axel Åhman, one third of favorites KAJ, acknowledged that it’s tough
to keep Eurovision an unpolitical event.
“The world always seeps in in some sense,” he told the AP. “But
we’re here to represent Sweden and we have prepared for this for all
our lives and want to make the best of our moment as artists in this
huge and legendary competition.
"So our main focus is there, and the politics (we) try to leave that
to the EBU and those actually making the decisions.”
___
Associated Press journalists Hilary Fox and Kwiyeon Ha contributed
to this report.
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