Eurovision Song Contest 2025

Eurovision Song Contest 2025
Host Information
Theme	United by Music (official) Welcome Home (secondary)
Semi Final 1	13 May 2025
Semi Final 2	15 May 2025
Final	17 May 2025
Venue	St Jakobshalle, Basel, Switzerland
Presenter(s)	Main: Michelle Hunziker (final only), Sandra Studer, Hazel Brugger Arena Plus: Mélanie Freymond, Sven Epiney
Director	Robin Hofwander, Fredrik Bäcklund
Executive Supervisor	Martin Österdahl
Host Broadcaster	SRG SSR
Acts
Opening Act	Semi 1: Dance performance to Tattoo, Waterloo, Arcade and The Code using yodeling and traditional Swiss instruments Semi 2: TBA Final: Flag Parade
Interval Act	Semi 1: Sandra Studer, Hazel Brugger and Petra Mede: "Made in Switzerland" Marina Satti, Jerry Heil, Iolanda and Silvester Belt: Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi (featuring a pre-performance message from Celine Dion) Jørgen Olsen: United by Music Semi 2: "2020 Revisited": Gjon's Tears (Répondez-moi), The Roop (On Fire), Destiny (All of My Love) and Samira Efendi (Cleopatra) Final: Nemo: "Casanova"
Participating Countries
Delegations	37
Returning	Montenegro
Withdrawing	Moldova
Voting
Voting System	Semifinals: Each country awards 12, 10, 8-1 points to their 10 favorite songs via public vote alone Final: Each country awards two sets of 12, 10, 8–1 points to 10 songs: the first from a professional jury, the second from viewers In all three shows, online votes from viewers in non-participating countries are aggregated and awarded as one set of points
Winner	TBD
Eurovision Song Contest
Previous	2024
Next	2026

The Eurovision Song Contest 2025 will be the 69th edition and will be held at the St Jakobshalle in Basel, Switzerland following Nemo's win in Malmö the previous year. This is the first time since 1989 that the country will host the event.

The official dates are 13 and 15 May 2025 for the semifinals, with the grand final on 17 May.

Lugano (host of 1956) and Lausanne (host of 1989) opted not to submit bids citing infrastructure issues, while St. Gallen withdrew their own proposal. Bern (in a joint proposal with Nemo's hometown of Biel), Geneva and Zurich also submitted bids.

37 countries will participate, with Montenegro making its return following its last appearance in 2022. Moldova withdrew a week prior to the semifinal allocation draw.

Format

Core Team

The core organizing team for the 2025 event was completed on 3 July 2024. Reto Peritz (SRF entertainment director and former Swiss Head of Delgation) and Moritz Stadler (head of operations for RTS) were named co-executive producers on 5 June 2024. Current Head of Delegation Yves Schifferle was named Head of Show and would be working closely with Head of Contest Christer Björkman and Head of Production Tobias Åberg, with Schifferle's HoD duties temporarily taken over by Daniel Meister. Other major members of the core team include Bernhard Spahni as Head of Project Management and Nadja Burkhardt-Tracol as Head of Event.

Arena Plus

To accommodate fans who were unable to be in the main arena for the grand final on 17 May, a secondary venue at nearby St. Jakobs Park football stadium was added to assist with the demand. Designated as "Arena Plus", the venue would host a live viewing party with the event presenters also announcing the results of the Swiss jury vote live on location. A pre-show concert was additionally planned, featuring performances by 2011 and 2019 Swiss representatives Anna Rossinelli and Luca Hänni, 2006 Belgian representative Kate Ryan, 2024 runner-up Baby Lasagna from Croatia, and Swiss EDM legend DJ Antoine.

Code of conduct

Following the controversies surrounding the 2024 contest such as the disqualification of the Dutch entry from the final and the conflicts regarding Israel's participation, the EBU introduced several measures that would be included for 2025 and beyond to ensure the overall well-being of the delegations and the safety of all working on the production. These measures included areas in the venue where the artists are not allowed to be filmed, an increase in closed-door rehearsals, optimized rehearsal schedules and the inclusion of a Welfare Producer as a key point of contact for both participants and staff.

Voting

Reference Group member Tomislav Štengl confirmed on 8 November 2024 that no changes would be made to the voting system for the grand final, meaning it would remain a 50:50 split between the national juries and the public. 100% televote will remain to select the qualifiers from the semifinals, with a possibility of the Rest of the World Vote returning for a third straight year.

Presenters

The presenters were announced in a special press event on 20 January 2025. The main competition would be presented by entertainer Michelle Hunziker, 1991 Swiss representative Sandra Studer and comedian Hazel Brugger. Sandra and Hazel presented all three shows, with Michelle joining them for the final. The Arena Plus event would be hosted by RTS TV personality Mélanie Freymond and longtime SRF commentator Sven Epiney.

Main show presenters: Michelle Hunziker, Sandra Studer and Hazel Brugger

Arena Plus presenters: Mélanie Freymond and Sven Epiney

Theme

The theme art, visual identity and stage design was revealed on 16 December 2024. Inspired by the tradition of Swiss direct democracy and using the Eurovision heart as the core of the design, the theme art, conceptually titled "Unity Shapes Love", centers around listening to one another and joining together to celebrate music and diversity.

Florian Wieder's stage design is inspired by the Swiss mountain landscape and the linguistic diversity of the country.

Aside from the permanent slogan United By Music, SRG SSR's secondary slogan is Welcome Home, as the Eurovision Song Contest comes full circle, returning to its birthplace.

Each of the three live shows also has its own theme, telling its own unique story. They are as follows:

• Semifinal 1: Where It All Began - Paying tribute to Eurovision's birthplace of Switzerland
• Semifinal 2: Eurovision Fans - A celebration of the fans of the contest across Europe and beyond
• Grand Final: Let's Celebrate a New Winner - Experiencing the excitement of a new winner joining the ranks of those who came before

Mascot

For the first time since "Eurobird" in 1992, the 2025 contest featured a mascot. Schools from all across Switzerland were invited to submit designs for the mascot until the end of January, after which a jury evaluated the entries. On 26 February 2025, the winning design was revealed. The character, named Lumo, was created by a student from Basel. SRG SSR explains the design like this:

“Lumo embodies the unstoppable power of music. Its untamed curly hair blazes like flames, dancing wildly to the beat and reflecting the electrifying euphoria of Eurovision. With its bright colors, it illustrates the heat of emotions – from fervent enthusiasm to the warming comfort of shared experiences. Its big bright eyes, mouth poised to burst into song, and its expressive hands make Lumo a joyous ambassador of musical diversity and togetherness.

As a gender-neutral and universal figure, Lumo represents unity and openness by bringing people of all ages and backgrounds together through the power of music. From the beginning of May, Lumo will walk the streets of Basel spreading the Eurovision spirit, like a living heartbeat showing that music knows no boundaries.”

Lumo, the Eurovision 2025 mascot

Incidents

Referendum

In September 2024, the Grand Council of the canton of Basel voted unanimously to set aside 37 million Swiss francs to fund the contest and supplementary activities such as Arena Plus at St. Jakobs Park, the EuroClub, Eurovision Street and Eurovision Village. However, the Federal Democratic Union, a Swiss Christian nationalist political party, submitted a petition against the funding of the event citing concerns about economic opportunity, degraded reputation and double standards regarding religion. This triggered a referendum regarding whether or not the city should fully fund the event.

On 24 November 2024, the citizens of Basel-Stadt overwhelmingly supported the Grand Council's resolution to fund the 2025 contest, with 66.5% voting "Yes".

Maltese entry

Miriana Conte had won the Maltese national selection with the song "Kant" (which translates to "Singing" in Maltese). However, it was revealed that radio stations in the United Kingdom (specifically BBC Radio 1 and Radio 2) were forbidden to play the track as the word "Kant" can also be pronounced in English as something very vulgar.
The rules set by OFCOM, the media watchdog in the United Kingdom, states that certain elements of TV shows and songs (ie: sexual content, foul language, etc.) cannot be broadcast prior to 9pm GMT. In March 2025, the EBU told PBS that the song as it was presented in MESC could not be performed and the lyrics had to be changed to be in ordinance with the contest rules. The title was changed to "Serving" and the new version was released on 14 March.

Participants

The semi-final allocation draw was held on 28 January 2025 at Art Museum Basel, and hosted by Jennifer Bosshard and Jan van Ditzhuijzen. The handover ceremony took place before the draw began, officially beginning the countdown to the contest.

The pots are as follows, calculated by the EBU's voting providers Once.net and based on voting patterns over the past 10 years:

Pot 1	Pot 2	Pot 3	Pot 4	Pot 5	Finalists
Belgium Czechia Estonia Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg The Netherlands	Armenia Azerbaijan Georgia Israel Poland Ukraine	Albania Austria Croatia Montenegro Serbia Slovenia	Cyprus Greece Ireland Malta Portugal San Marino	Australia Denmark Finland Iceland Norway Sweden	France Germany Italy Spain Switzerland (Host) United Kingdom

Pre-Allocations

No pre-allocations were requested this year.

Returning Artists

Artist(s)	Previous Year(s)
Nina Žižić	2013 (with Who See)
Justyna Steczkowska	1995

Languages

• Ich Komme features lyrics in German
• Bur man laimi is the first entry to be fully performed in Latvian since 2004
• C'est La Vie is the first Dutch entry to be performed mostly in French
• Baller is the first entry to be performed in German since 2007
• Bara bada bastu is the first entry from Sweden to be performed in Swedish since 1998, and the first Swedish entry to feature lyrics in the Vörå dialect

Semi Final One

Italy, Spain and Switzerland, plus Rest of the World, voted in this semi. It took place on 13 May 2025.

Draw	Country	Artist	Song	Language	Translation	Place	Points
01	Iceland	Væb	Róa	Icelandic	Row	Q
02	Poland	Justyna Steczkowska	Gaja	Polish	Gaia	Q
03	Slovenia	Klemen	How Much Time Do We Have Left	English	--
04	Estonia	Tommy Cash	Espresso Macchiato	English, Italian		Q
>>	Spain	Melody	Esa diva	Spanish	That diva	AQ
05	Ukraine	Ziferblat	Bird of Pray	English, Ukrainian	--	Q
06	Sweden	KAJ	Bara bada bastu	Swedish	Gonna have a sauna	Q
07	Portugal	Napa	Deslocado	Portuguese	Dislocated	Q
08	Norway	Kyle Alessandro	Lighter	English	--	Q
09	Belgium	Red Sebastian	Strobe Lights
>>	Italy	Lucio Corsi	Volevo essere un duro	Italian	I wanted to be a tough guy	AQ
10	Azerbaijan	Mamagama	Run With U	English	--
11	San Marino	Gabry Ponte	Tutta l'Italia	Italian	All of Italy	Q
12	Albania	Shkodra Elektronike	Zjerm	Albanian	Fire	Q
13	The Netherlands	Claude	C'est La Vie	French, English	That's life	Q
14	Croatia	Marko Bošnjak	Poison Cake	English	--
>>	Switzerland	Zoë Më	Voyage	French	Take a trip	AQ
15	Cyprus	Theo Evan	Shh	English	--

Semi Final Two

France, Germany and United Kingdom, plus Rest of the World, will vote in this semi. It will take place on 15 May 2025.

Draw	Country	Artist	Song	Language	Translation	Place	Points
01	Australia	Go-Jo	Milkshake Man	English	--
02	Montenegro	Nina Žižić	Dobrodošli	Montenegrin	Welcome
03	Ireland	Emmy	Laika Party	English	--
04	Latvia	Tautumeitas	Bur man laimi	Latvian	Bring me happiness
05	Armenia	Parg	Survivor	English	--
06	Austria	JJ	Wasted Love
>>	United Kingdom	Remember Monday	What The Hell Just Happened?			AQ
07	Greece	Klavdia	Asteromata	Greek	Starry eyes
08	Lithuania	Katarsis	Tavo akys	Lithuanian	Your eyes
09	Malta	Miriana Conte	Serving	English	--
10	Georgia	Mariam Shengelia	Freedom	English, Georgian
>>	France	Louane	Maman	French	Mom	AQ
11	Denmark	Sissal	Hallucination	English	--
12	Czechia	ADONXS	Kiss Kiss Goodbye
13	Luxembourg	Laura Thorn	La poupée monte le son	French	The doll turns up the sound
14	Israel	Yuval Raphael	New Day Will Rise	English, Hebrew	--
>>	Germany	Abor & Tynna	Baller	German	Shoot	AQ
15	Serbia	Princ	Mila	Serbian	My dear
16	Finland	Erika Vikman	Ich Komme	Finnish, German	I'm coming

Automatic Qualifiers

The automatic qualifiers will temporarily be placed here. Until the final allocation draw is complete, participants will have "H1" or "H2" as their draw designation.

Draw	Country	Artist	Song	Language	Translation
	France	Louane	Maman	French	Mom
	Germany	Abor & Tynna	Baller	German	Shoot
PC	Italy	Lucio Corsi	Volevo essere un duro	Italian	I wanted to be a tough guy
H1	Spain	Melody	Esa diva	Spanish	That diva
19	Switzerland (Host)	Zoë Më	Voyage	French	Take a trip
	United Kingdom	Remember Monday	What The Hell Just Happened?	English	--

Grand Final

All countries will vote, with the Rest of the World aggregate vote added as an extra set of televotes. The final will take place on 17 May 2025. Switzerland's place in the running order will be decided during the Head of Delegations meetings in March 2025.

Draw	Country	Artist	Song	Language	Translation	Place	Points
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19	Switzerland	Zoë Më	Voyage	French	Take a trip
20
21
22
23
24
25
26

Withdrawing/Uncertain

• Andorra - RTVA confirmed on 26 June 2024 that Andorra would not return for 2025.
• Belarus - BTRC remains suspended following their disqualification from the 2021 contest.
• Bosnia and Herzegovina - On 8 July 2024, the Municipal Court in Sarajevo ordered BHRT to sell off real estate to pay off the broadcaster's long-standing debts to the EBU. On 17 July 2024, BHRT confirmed that Bosnia and Herzegovina would not return for 2025.
• Bulgaria - BNT contemplated a 2025 return, but did not follow through.
• Hungary - MTVA confirmed that it would not air the 2025 contest in Hungary.
• Kosovo - On 12 June 2024, RTK submitted a request to the EBU for Kosovo to be invited to debut in 2025. However, it was announced on 7 August 2024 that the EBU turned down the request for political reasons. RTK aired all three shows.
• North Macedonia - MRT confirmed on 25 September 2024 that North Macedonia would not return for 2025, but would still broadcast the event.
• Moldova - On 22 January 2025, TRM announced that Moldova would cancel their national final which was set for 22 February 2025 and withdraw from the contest citing lack of public interest, poor entry quality and financial issues. The shows would still air on TRM 1.
• Monaco - TVMonaco aired all three shows in Monaco.
• Romania - TVR confirmed that it would not air the 2025 contest in Romania. However, they are hoping for a return as early as 2026.
• Russia - C1R and VGTRK remain suspended following Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
• Slovakia - RTVS confirmed that Slovakia would not return for 2025 citing financial issues.
• Türkiye - A Turkish return in 2025 was unlikely following comments by President Erdogan regarding the 2024 event and Nemo's subsequent victory, alleging the encouragement of "gender neutralization" and threatening "traditional family values".

Other Countries

• The shows aired in Canada via the live streams on the official YouTube channel. Additionally, they were shown at select Cineplex cinemas across the country.
• NBC's streaming platform Peacock aired all three shows in the United States.
• KVF aired all three shows in the Faroe Islands.
• Zapping Channel aired all three shows in Chile.

Trivia

• This is the 6th consecutive contest not to be held in the capital city of the host country. However, in Switzerland there is no city recognized as its official capital (Bern is considered the de facto capital).
• It is the third consecutive contest where the main presenters were majority female.
• The contest has now been hosted in each of the 3 regions of Switzerland (the Italian region in 1956, the French region in 1989, and the German region in 2025).
• 2025 marked the 50th anniversary of the introduction of the 12-point scoring system.
• The 2025 contest marked the final event for longtime Swiss French commentator Jean-Marc Richard. He had been the main commentator for the Romandie region of the country off and on since 1993, famously commenting "32 years I've waited for this!" when Nemo won in 2024.
• 19 different languages were represented among the 37 entries either fully or partially.
• Instead of adding an insignia to the key ring during the semifinal allocation draw, the City of Malmö gave Basel a specially-designed coat as a gift inspired by the one Nemo wore at the 2024 opening ceremony. Created by local fashion shop Pampas (which also provided Nemo's onstage outfit), the coat was made with recycled banners from the 2024 contest. This presentation of a "friendship gift" from one city to the next would be the new custom going forward.