Find your best outfits and get ready to party! The final of the 69th Eurovision Song Contest kicks off tomorrow night in Basel, Switzerland.
The Swiss are hosting this year’s competition after Nemo’s song ‘The Code’ won it for them in 2024, keeping in line with Eurovision tradition, with the winner hosting the following year’s event.
Switzerland last won the competition in 1988 with legendary singer Celine Dion’s powerful ballad “Ne partez pas sans moi”.
The two semi-finals took place on Tuesday and Thursday with some popular acts being knocked out. Australia’s song, Milkshake Man had been tipped by some to do well in the final but failed to progress from last night’s show. And Ireland, who have the joint most number of wins (seven in total and tied with Sweden) also crashed out. It’s the eighth time in the last 10 attempts that they’ve left at the semi-final stage.
Israel did make it through, despite its act having to contend with protestors in the audience who flew large Palestine flags before they were escorted out of the venue.
Tomorrow’s extravaganza will take place in an arena, called Jakobshalle, and is expected to host around 12,000 excited fans.
Bookie’s Favourite…Here We Go Again!
The bookies’ odds have predicted that Sweden will win the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest.
Swedish trio act KAJ are representing Sweden with their song ‘Bara Bada Bastu’. According to Eurovisionworld.com, the group has a 41% chance of winning.
Austrian musician JJ is second in place to win the competition with his ballad ‘Wasted Love’, with a 20% chance of winning.
Despite controversy surrounding Israel’s participation in the competition, they are predicted to have a 4% of winning with Yuval Raphael’s song ‘New Day Will Rise’.
Credit: EBU
Around 20 songs (10 from each semifinal) will now join the ‘big five’ in the grand finale for a chance to snag the trophy.
And the competition wouldn’t be the competition it is without the infamous voting after the acts have all performed.
So, how does voting work?
Many fans of the contest know how complex it can be to explain the voting system. The system has been changed over the course of years to expand and produce a fairer result.
The qualifiers are determined by public vote – in which participating countries vote in the semifinal draw they are in.
The Grand Final is when things get a little confusing – the public vote only counts towards 50% of the total vote. The remaining vote is determined by a professional jury, consisting of musical experts, from each participating country and non-participating countries.
After the show announces the results of the public vote, a spokesperson from each country will announce their own jury results – the famous 12 points being the maximum amount they can give to a country.
The voting segment of the show is one of the tensest and anticipated as the public vote can have a very different result to the jury vote.
This means a country can go from last place to first place in a matter of minutes – or even from first place to last.
Sophie Ellis-Bextor has stepped in at the last minute to replace ‘Doctor Who’ actor Ncuti Gatwa to be the UK’s National Jury Spokesperson. The BBC statement released on Friday said: “Due to unforeseen circumstances, unfortunately Ncuti Gatwa is no longer able to participate as Spokesperson during the Grand Final this weekend. However, we are delighted to confirm that BBC Radio 2’s very own Friday night Kitchen Disco Diva Sophie Ellis-Bextor will be presenting the Jury result live from the UK.”
Over the last couple of years, Eurovision parties have become more popular. Cinemas and bars have started to organise theme nights attracting crowds who want to watch the event with a party vibe to it.
There are many events taking place across Glasgow tomorrow. We caught up with the organisers of Oran Mor’s celebration. Staff have organised a big Eurovision night in the auditorium starting at 7.30pm and revellers are being asked to dress to impress for it. We caught up with the staff at Oran Mor to find out more about it:
You may be wondering: What’s the ‘big five’? This refers to the countries of France, Spain, United Kingdom, Italy and the host country (winners of the previous year) who get a straight pass through to the final.
An explanation for the ‘big five’ on the official Eurovision website states: ‘the group of countries who via their broadcasters make the biggest financial contribution towards the organisation of the Contest’.
Join us for a night of glamour and unforgettable performances as Oran Mor is bringing us a screening of the Eurovision Grand Final. Bring all your friends and dress to impress to cheer on the country of your choice with fellow Eurovision fans.
Expect a magical night with unlimited campy chaos that we all love about Eurovision!
Date: 17th of May 2025
Time: 7:30 p.m. till late
Entry: £5
Location: Oran Mor, Top of Byres Road, Glasgow G12 8QX
Meet Remember Monday: The UK’s Eurovision entry proving that girl bands are still very much alive
We finally got to see a glimpse of the UK’s Eurovision entry as Remember Monday performed for their song What The Hell Just Happened?.
Credit: Corinne Cumming/EBU
Heading on stage on Thursday nights semi-final, the trio delivered an over the top, genre hopping performance co-written alongside Eurovision songwriter Thomas Stengaard and Julie Aagaard that featured glitter fuelled party props, neon lights and the groups signature vocal harmonies.
It was loud, fast and cheesy – in true Eurovision fashion nonetheless.
The group hit the Turquoise Carpet on Monday, the trio’s outfits paid homage to the groups British heritage, showcasing the four national flowers of the UK, the rose, thistle, daffodil and flax. The trios outfits aimed to give fans a sense of regal British – while keeping with the groups pop princess performance aesthetic influenced by the likes of Sabrina Carpenter and Taylor Swift.
Credit: Alma Bengtsson/EBU
The trio, made up of Lauren Byrne, Holly-Anne Hull and Charlotte Steele, have been best friends since 2013 after meeting each other at sixth form college.
The band name was inspired by their time at college, as Mondays was the only day they all had a free period to practise together. The country-pop trio were contestants on The Voice in 2019, with Jennifer Hudson as their mentor.
The song “chronicles the aftermath of a fun night out with friends, it perfectly showcases the band’s humour, relatability and their signature harmonies”.
The group’s sound takes inspiration from several different classic and new pop songs from invoking the ‘wonderful weirdness’ of Bohemian Rhapsody to the feminine hyperpop sounds of Chappell Roan with a little bit of church choir in there it is truly a genre free for all.
The trio spoke more to The Independent about the story behind the song, stating: ‘It sort of tells the story of us a little bit too,”
“There have been so many nights like that for us – too many maybe – you know, ending up drunk in tattoo shops getting matching tattoos.”
Undoubtedly, Remember Monday is ecstatic to be representing the UK in Eurovision.
“They kept saying, ‘Oh, you’ll hear in a few days’ – we didn’t”.
“And then the call finally came, and we were all – I mean, it was so funny, actually, wasn’t it? – because they said, ‘What are you doing in May 2025?’.
The girls opened up about their strong bond with each other and spoke more about how they have supported each other in dealing with the worry that comes with being the UK’s Eurovision entry – due to the UK’s notoriously bad run in securing points from both the public and jury voting.
“I think because we’re friends first, we’re in our little bubble and we can support each other through it,” Lauren says.
“Yeah like, we were Holly’s bridesmaids,” Charlotte chimes in, “We’ve been inseparable, genuine friends first – so we don’t even really need to say anything to know when one of us is having a stressful time.”
The trio also spoke with Far Out Magazine about their excitement in being selected to represent the UK in this year’s contest.
“When you’re a kid and people ask you what you want to be when you grow up, an absolute classic is ‘I wanna be a pop star’, so the fact that we’re getting the chance to live that dream as three best friends is just wild”
However, the trio are not new to the spotlight with all of them working in some very well known musical theatre productions such as The Phantom of the Opera, Matilda and Mary Poppins before becoming full time band members in 2023.
“We’ve been recognised together AND individually!”
“It’s the individual ones that throw us off. We’re just like, surely we don’t exist as individuals.”
You can catch up with the trio on BBC One’s exclusive one-off show, Eurovision 2025: When Graham Met Remember Monday. The Eurovision legend talks to the trio about their hopes for the final, singing in front of millions of viewers and sneak peeks behind the scenes of their journey to the Grand Final.
The Eurovision Grand Final will be broadcast on BBC 1 and iPlayer from 8 p.m on Saturday 17th of May – commentary provided by the iconic Graham Norton, live from Basel.
Israel’s controversial presence in Eurovision
Israel has a solid relationship with Eurovision, the country has been in the contest over 46 times since their debut in 1973.
Their inclusion in this year’s competition has caused massive controversy with viewers and organisations calling them to be banned from the event.
Yuval Raphael, survivor of the October 7th attacks, will represent the country with her song “New Day Will Rise”.
During her performances at the semifinals on Thursday, the live broadcaster didn’t show any of the audience, only the singer’s voice – minimal cheers could be heard as the performance ended.
However, Eurovision fans have accused broadcasters of ‘silencing’ the boos and jeers.
A video, posted by a user on X, showed the audience booing and whistling during the performance, with some even waving Palestinian flags in the crowd.
According to some reports, some of these individuals were removed by Eurovision organisers – having already taken precautions in case of a protest.
A Eurovision audience member holds a Palestinian flag during Israel’s semifinal performance (Credit: Reuters Photo)
Earlier this year, around 70 former and current contestants signed an open letter calling organisers to ban Israel for their participation in the on-going conflict in Gaza.
The letter calls out the EBU (European Broadcasting Union) and Isralie broadcaster KAN, accusing them of being “complicit in Israel’s genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza and the decades-long regime of apartheid and military occupation against the entire Palestinian people”
Around 53,000 people have died in Gaza since the outbreak of the conflict, according to health officials.
Some of these contestants included Mae Miller, who represented the UK in 2023 and Irish singer Charlie McGettigan, who won the competition in 1994.
The letter also highlights ‘hypocrisy’ by the EBU, noting that the competition’s rules were changed for other political events – citing Russia’s exclusion from the competition in 2022 after declaring war on Ukraine.
The EBU have responded to the controversy via a statement, a spokesperson said: ‘We understand the concerns and deeply held views around the current conflict in the Middle East. The EBU is not immune to global events but, together with our members, it is our role to ensure the contest remains, at its heart, a universal event that promotes connections, diversity and inclusion through music.
‘We all aspire to keep the Eurovision song contest positive and inclusive and aspire to show the world as it could be, rather than how it necessarily is.’
On Wednesday evening, around 200 people demonstrated peacefully in central Basel. Many were waving Palestinian flags – demanding an end to Israel’s involvement in the Gaza conflict.
Boycotts towards Israel’s inclusion started during the 2024 competition hosted in Malmo, Sweden. Over 1,000 Swedish artists, 400 Irish artists, and 1,400 music industry professionals called for Israel’s exclusion.
