The Eurovision Song Contest 2025 was the 69th edition and was held at the St Jakobshalle in Basel, Switzerland following Nemo's win in Malmö the previous year. This was the first time since 1989 that the country hosted the event.
The official dates were 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 participated, with Montenegro making its return following its last appearance in 2022. Moldova withdrew a week prior to the semifinal allocation draw.
Approximately 166 million viewers took in the three live shows, with fans in 146 countries (including the 37 participating nations) casting votes. Multiple broadcasters saw increases in viewership compared to 2024.
San Marino qualified for only the 4th time in its history, while Denmark qualified for the first time since 2019 and Malta returned to the final for the first time since 2021. All of the Nordic and Baltic nations advanced, while all the ex-Yugoslavian nations were eliminated.
Austria took the victory with Wasted Love by JJ. It is Austria's third victory overall, and first since 2014. Israel finished in 2nd place, with Estonia, Sweden and Italy finishing in the top 5.
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
Postcards[]
Each artist reaches into a mailbox where a postcard is waiting for them with an image of a location in Switzerland. The action then focuses on the artist in the location depicted on their postcard participating in activity with a Swiss local before striking a pose in their own style.
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[]
Baller was the first German entry to be performed in German since 2007.- Bur man laimi was the first Latvian entry to not be performed in English since 2009 and the first in Latvian since 2004.
- Bara bada bastu was the first Swedish entry to be performed in Swedish since 1998.
Gallery[]
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 | 6 | 97 |
| 02 | Poland
|
Justyna Steczkowska | Gaja | Polish, English | Gaia | 7 | 85 |
| 03 | Slovenia
|
Klemen | How Much Time Do We Have Left | English | -- | 13 | 23 |
| 04 | Estonia
|
Tommy Cash | Espresso Macchiato | English, Italian | 5 | 113 | |
| >> | Spain
|
Melody | Esa diva | Spanish | That diva | AQ | |
| 05 | Ukraine
|
Ziferblat | Bird of Pray | English, Ukrainian | -- | 1 | 137 |
| 06 | Sweden
|
KAJ | Bara bada bastu | Swedish | Gonna have a sauna | 4 | 118 |
| 07 | Portugal
|
Napa | Deslocado | Portuguese | Dislocated | 9 | 56 |
| 08 | Norway
|
Kyle Alessandro | Lighter | English | -- | 8 | 82 |
| 09 | Belgium
|
Red Sebastian | Strobe Lights | 14 | 23 | ||
| >> | Italy
|
Lucio Corsi | Volevo essere un duro | Italian | I wanted to be a tough guy | AQ | |
| 10 | Azerbaijan
|
Mamagama | Run With U | English | -- | 15 | 7 |
| 11 | San Marino
|
Gabry Ponte | Tutta l'Italia | Italian | All of Italy | 10 | 46 |
| 12 | Albania
|
Shkodra Elektronike | Zjerm | Albanian | Fire | 2 | 122 |
| 13 | The Netherlands
|
Claude | C'est La Vie | French, English | That's life | 3 | 121 |
| 14 | Croatia
|
Marko Bošnjak | Poison Cake | English | -- | 12 | 28 |
| >> | Switzerland
|
Zoë Më | Voyage | French | Take a trip | AQ | |
| 15 | Cyprus
|
Theo Evan | Shh | English | -- | 11 | 44 |
Semi Final Two[]
France, Germany and United Kingdom, plus Rest of the World, voted in this semi. It took place on 15 May 2025.
| Draw | Country | Artist | Song | Language | Translation | Place | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Australia
|
Go-Jo | Milkshake Man | English | -- | 11 | 41 |
| 02 | Montenegro
|
Nina Žižić | Dobrodošli | Montenegrin | Welcome | 16 | 12 |
| 03 | Ireland
|
Emmy | Laika Party | English | -- | 13 | 28 |
| 04 | Latvia
|
Tautumeitas | Bur man laimi | Latvian | Bring me happiness | 2 | 130 |
| 05 | Armenia
|
Parg | Survivor | English | -- | 10 | 51 |
| 06 | Austria
|
JJ | Wasted Love | 5 | 104 | ||
| >> | United Kingdom
|
Remember Monday | What The Hell Just Happened? | AQ | |||
| 07 | Greece
|
Klavdia | Asteromata | Greek | Starry eyes | 4 | 111 |
| 08 | Lithuania
|
Katarsis | Tavo akys | Lithuanian | Your eyes | 6 | 103 |
| 09 | Malta
|
Miriana Conte | Serving | English | -- | 9 | 53 |
| 10 | Georgia
|
Mariam Shengelia | Freedom | English, Georgian | 15 | 28 | |
| >> | France
|
Louane | Maman | French | Mom | AQ | |
| 11 | Denmark
|
Sissal | Hallucination | English | -- | 8 | 61 |
| 12 | Czechia
|
ADONXS | Kiss Kiss Goodbye | 12 | 29 | ||
| 13 | Luxembourg
|
Laura Thorn | La poupée monte le son | French | The doll turns up the sound | 7 | 62 |
| 14 | Israel
|
Yuval Raphael | New Day Will Rise | English, French, Hebrew | -- | 1 | 203 |
| >> | Germany
|
Abor & Tynna | Baller | German | Shoot | AQ | |
| 15 | Serbia
|
Princ | Mila | Serbian | My dear | 14 | 28 |
| 16 | Finland
|
Erika Vikman | Ich Komme | Finnish, German | I'm coming | 3 | 115 |
Grand Final[]
All countries voted, with the Rest of the World aggregate vote added as an extra set of televotes. The final took place on 17 May 2025. Switzerland's place in the running order was decided during the Head of Delegations meetings in March 2025.
| Draw | Country | Artist | Song | Language | Translation | Place | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Norway
|
Kyle Alessandro | Lighter | English | -- | 18 | 89 |
| 02 | Luxembourg
|
Laura Thorn | La poupée monte le son | French | The doll turns up the sound | 22 | 47 |
| 03 | Estonia
|
Tommy Cash | Espresso Macchiato | English, Italian | -- | 3 | 356 |
| 04 | Israel
|
Yuval Raphael | New Day Will Rise | English, French, Hebrew | 2 | 357 | |
| 05 | Lithuania
|
Katarsis | Tavo akys | Lithuania | Your eyes | 16 | 96 |
| 06 | Spain
|
Melody | Esa diva | Spanish | That diva | 24 | 37 |
| 07 | Ukraine
|
Ziferblat | Bird of Pray | English, Ukrainian | -- | 9 | 218 |
| 08 | United Kingdom
|
Remember Monday | What The Hell Just Happened? | English | 19 | 88 | |
| 09 | Austria
|
JJ | Wasted Love | 1 | 436 | ||
| 10 | Iceland
|
Væb | Róa | Icelandic | Row | 25 | 33 |
| 11 | Latvia
|
Tautumeitas | Bur man laimi | Latvian | Bring me happiness | 13 | 158 |
| 12 | The Netherlands
|
Claude | C'est La Vie | English, French | That's life | 12 | 175 |
| 13 | Finland
|
Erika Vikman | Ich Komme | Finnish, German | I'm coming | 11 | 196 |
| 14 | Italy
|
Lucio Corsi | Volevo essere un duro | Italian | I wanted to be a tough guy | 5 | 256 |
| 15 | Poland
|
Justyna Steczkowska | Gaja | Polish, English | Gaia | 14 | 156 |
| 16 | Germany
|
Abor & Tynna | Baller | German | Shoot | 15 | 151 |
| 17 | Greece
|
Klavdia | Asteromata | Greek | Starry eyes | 6 | 231 |
| 18 | Armenia
|
Parg | Survivor | English | -- | 20 | 72 |
| 19 | Switzerland
|
Zoë Më | Voyage | French | Take a trip | 10 | 214 |
| 20 | Malta
|
Miriana Conte | Serving | English | -- | 17 | 91 |
| 21 | Portugal
|
Napa | Deslocado | Portuguese | Dislocated | 21 | 50 |
| 22 | Denmark
|
Sissal | Hallucination | English | -- | 23 | 47 |
| 23 | Sweden
|
KAJ | Bara bada bastu | Swedish | Gonna have a sauna | 4 | 321 |
| 24 | France
|
Louane | Maman | French | Mom | 7 | 230 |
| 25 | San Marino
|
Gabry Ponte | Tutta l'Italia | Italian | All of Italy | 26 | 27 |
| 26 | Albania
|
Shkodra Elektronike | Zjerm | Albanian | Fire | 8 | 218 |
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 Erdoğan 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 was the first contest...
- since 2013 where all the ex-Yugoslavian countries were eliminated.
- since 2014 where all the Nordic countries qualified for the final.
- In both cases, Austria won the contest overall.
- where a song fully performed in Latvian reached the final.
- since 2004 where a Latvian entry was fully performed in its native language.
- For the second year in a row...
- All three Baltic nations qualified together.
- An internally-selected artist and song won the contest.
- The United Kingdom got 0 points in the televote.
- Australia finished 11th in the semifinal.
- The country in last place was not an automatic qualifier.
- A country got its third win overall.
- The winner came from the second semifinal.
- For the third year in a row...
- Armenia qualified without Azerbaijan.
- The presenting team was majority female.
- Israel won the Rest of the World vote in its assigned semifinal and the final.
- The winner of the jury vote won the contest overall, with the public vote winner finishing in 2nd.
- 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).
- 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).
- Approximately 36,000 fans attended the Arena Plus event at St. Jakobs Park stadium. This was the highest-attended Eurovision event since Parken Stadium in Copenhagen welcomed over 38,000 people for the 2001 contest.
- 2025 marked the 50th anniversary of the introduction of the 12-point scoring system.
- Only 2 acts in the first semifinal were female-led (Poland and Albania), with both qualifying.
- 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.
- The countries casting the most votes in the non-participating countries included the United States, Canada, Romania, Slovakia, Mexico, Türkiye, Hungary, Kosovo, the United Arab Emirates and South Africa.
- This was the first time sine 2017 that the Cyprus sent and artist who as Actually born on the Island
- 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.