Basel, Switzerland – Fans from around the world went down during the 69th Eurovision song competition to come together behind artists from their country of origin who fought on stage all week.
In total, there are 26 performances in the grand final: the countries that have crossed the semi -finals, as well as the host country (this year, Switzerland) and a group called The Big Five – France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom – which automatically enter the final because their countries provide the largest financial contributions to Eurovision.
While the artists are preparing for an extravagant and glitter pop song contest featuring their extremely exaggerated performance, thousands of spectators meet at Eurovision Village, a congress center that has been transformed into a hub for fans. Some drapes of national flags on their backs, others paint the flags on their faces. Many are dancing until the early hours of the Euroclub, which only plays Eurovision.
The event is what the members of the Remember Monday group representing the United Kingdom called a cultural phenomenon, comparing it to the Super Bowl in the United States
“Everyone knows what it is,” said Holly-Anne Hull. “And everyone, whether they like it or not, know who won it every year.”
Here’s what you need to know else.
How to watch and vote
The artists will fight during the grand finale on Saturday, which is broadcast at 3 p.m. on Peacock for viewers in the United States
The competition winner is decided by a mixture of national juries votes from music professionals and viewers who look at home. People around the world can vote for the winner using the application of the competition or online.
Who are the favorites of this year?
The game on Eurovision is a large company, and sports betting companies – which give their two hundred about the chances of each competitor – have decent experience to identify the songs that will be well during the grand finale on Saturday.
This year, the favorites include Sweden, which won the competition seven times since the first Eurovision in 1956. The Kaj group, a Trio of Finnish speaking Swedish, between this year with “Bara Bada Bastu”, an ode to the Nordic tradition of going to the sauna. The song, which presents the staging to recreate a sauna with dancers in towels, is the most broadcast song far from this year’s competition, according to Spotify.
Another superior candidate is Austria. The singer JJ, an opera singer, uses an extraordinary vocal range to hit high notes throughout her song, “Wasted Love”.
Dutch entrance is also considered a favorite. “It’s the life” of singer Claude has a mixture of French and English words, and it is the third most broadcast song of the nominated this year on Spotify.
Other catchy numbers to monitor
Eurovision songs have crossed genres, and although many are not moved to a Top 40 radio read list, they sometimes stand out for wild lyrics or a breathtaking staging.
In addition to the Swedish sauna song, this year’s entrances include the Icelandic Væb. The Blond Brothers give oversized silver outfits and sunglasses inlaid with jewelry and jump vigorously on the stage during their song “Róa”, which aims to row a boat.
Erika Vikman of Finland singing on a “lust trance” while wearing leather boots in “ich komme”. The song reaches its highest point with Vikman on a giant microphone suspended in the air with sparks that fly away.
Being weird does not guarantee a place in the final, however. This year, Irish entrance was a dance anthem imagining a world in which Laika, the Soviet dog who died after being sent to space, not only lived but “has a party in the air” and “is dancing every night among the stars”. He did not do the semi-final on Thursday.
Were there controversies?
As was the case last year, Israel’s participation attracted demonstrations about the country’s war in the Gaza Strip. This year’s candidate, Yuval Raphael, survived the terrorist attack led by Hamas against the Nova Music Festival on October 7, 2023. The European Union of Broadcasting (EBU) prohibits the words which he considers political and last year forced the entry of Israel to change the words which refer to the attacks.
Martin Green, director of the Eurovision Song competition, said in a press release that the UBU, which organizes the competition, “is not immune to world events but, with our members, it is our role to guarantee that the competition remains – in its heart – a universal event which promotes connections, diversity and inclusion through music.”
“It is not our role to make comparisons between conflicts,” he added, noting that the EBU “remains aligned with other international organizations which also maintained their inclusive position towards the Israeli participants in major competitions at that time.”
Malta’s entry has also aroused the controversy for her words from Miriana Conte’s song, “Serving”. The original version featured the Maltese word for “singing”, which looks like a vulgar word in English. This word was omitted in the reworked version. The singer posted on her Instagram that the EBU had made her change the words.
In a statement to Sky News, the British partner of NBC, at the time, the UBU said that “if a song was considered unacceptable for any reason, the radediffusers have the possibility of modifying it, or selecting a new one, before the deadline in accordance with the rules of the competition.”
The Italian consumer group Codacons has also filed a complaint against offensive stereotypes in “Espresso Macchiato” by Tommy Cash Estonian Tommy Cash, which includes words that refer to “sweating like a mafioso” and being “addicted to tobacco”.
A Eurovision spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comments concerning the entry of Estonia.
A major surprise appearance could be in store
A question in the minds of many people is whether Céline Dion – Yes THE Céline Dion – will appear.
The awarded artist was 20 years old when she won the competition for Switzerland in 1988. (Although she was Canadian, artists do not need to be from the country they represent. For example, this year, Swedish entrance is from Finland and Irish entrance comes from Norway.)
Dion appeared in a video in the semi-finals on Tuesday saying that it “would love nothing more” than to appear in the competition. The singer was public about her diagnosis of steep person syndrome and gave emotional performance during the opening ceremony of the summer Olympic Games in Paris last year.
Questioned by e-mail by NBC News on the possibility that Dion appears in person in the final on Saturday, the spokesperson for Eurovision, Sibylle Tornay, said: “There is currently no change concerning Céline Dion-we are still in close contact with her, of course, her health is the most important thing and comes first.”
