The final ten Eurovision 2025 finalists qualified

The last ten finalists of the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) 2025 have just been confirmed – from the second semi-final, which took place this Thursday at the St. Jakobshalle in Basel, Switzerland.

 

Summary of the show

 

• Australia: Go-Jo, Milkshake Man
  • Postcard: Bern
  • Performance: The beginning of Go-Jo’s performance evoked a 1980s television commercial, with the effect of an old TV screen on the broadcast. During part of the performance, a scrolling advertisement appeared at the bottom of the screen. The performer was joined by one dancer. At one point, Go-Jo stepped into a prop resembling a blender. Later, a second dancer joined the act. Vibrant lighting and a relaxed, disco-style atmosphere dominated the stage.

 

• Montenegro: Nina Žižić, Dobrodošli
  • Postcard: Zurich
  • Performance: Nina Žižić’s outfit was striking, with a sumptuous white dress. The singer wore a blindfold during the introduction. The LED background screens were used to display colorful graphics. Surrounded by low-lying smoke on the stage floor, Nina Žižić only moved to the front part of the stage later on, where she finished her performance.

 

• Ireland: EMMY, Laika Party
  • Postcard: CERN, Meyrin
  • Performance: Emmy was joined on stage by four dancers and a DJ, all dressed in outfits evoking space exploration. The lighting was cheerful, in shades of purple and light blue, and at the center of the stage was a prop resembling a spaceship. The LED background screens featured graphics of a dog (fitting, as the song was ‘inspired’ by Laika), astronauts, and a planet. It’s also worth noting that the postcard for Ireland and Emmy being filmed at CERN was a very fitting choice.

 

• Latvia: Tautumeitas, Bur man laimi
  • Postcard: Zurich
  • Performance: Tautumeitas began shrouded in darkness behind a curtain of strings, before the stage lit up with warm colors revealing the performers’ faces. Later, after the choruses, they returned behind the curtain. In the final part, with smoke covering the stage floor, the lighting shifted back to dark and cool tones as Tautumeitas performed a choreography leading to their final pose.

 

• Armenia: PARG, Survivor
  • Postcard: Betlis
  • Performance: PARG started alone on stage, with the lighting structure lowered to hang just above the singer… who later stepped onto a moving walkway for a few moments, with the camera movements and his own giving the illusion of running. In the more rhythmic parts of the song, red and orange tones dominated the lighting, and pyrotechnics were not lacking.

 

• Austria: JJ, Wasted Love
  • Postcard: Emmental
  • Performance: Austria’s performance is unique in this edition, presented entirely in black and white from start to finish. JJ, a countertenor, was alone on stage on a prop shaped like a small sailing boat. The dynamic comes from the camera movements, which convey the feeling of turbulent ocean waters along the graphics on the screens.

 

The first break in performances came with Hazel Brugger showing a bit of Basel, giving time to prepare the entrance of Remember Monday: the United Kingdom’s representatives, who are automatic finalists and performed live during this semi-final.

 

• United Kingdom: Remember Monday, What The Hell Just Happened?
  • Postcard: Zermatt
  • Performance: The female trio began at the front of the stage in a boudoir. It gave off the feeling of being in a Disney musical, enhanced by the singers’ outfits. Then, Remember Monday moved to the main stage, where they encountered an oversized chandelier. A lively and fun performance throughout the roughly three minutes. In the end, they returned to the boudoir where they started, peeking through a heart-shaped window that served as a mirror.

 

• Greece: Klavdia, Asteromata
  • Postcard: Peccia
  • Performance: Alone on stage, Klavdia appeared dressed in black on a tall structure beside which stood a rock. Dark tones prevailed, with the LED screens used to create visual effects. In the chorus, lava graphics appeared as the back LED screen opened, along with warm colors and the entrance of a dancer. A burning tree was also shown, before blue tones took over and birds appeared. In the final chorus, Klavdia stood on a rock surrounded by lava, with a volcanic landscape in the background. But the ending was dominated by dawn-like tones, including in the singer’s dress.

 

• Lithuania: Katarsis, Tavo akys
  • Postcard: Basel
  • Performance: Katarsis began surrounded by smoke, evoking a sense of fog, while the LED background displayed images of a rural landscape. During the chorus, three of the band members moved to the front of the stage, but the lead singer briefly returned to the main part of the stage in the final moments of the performance. Dark and cool tones prevailed throughout.

 

• Malta: Miriana Conte, Serving
  • Postcard: Le Noirmont
  • Performance: Malta brought one of the most extravagant staging concepts of the semifinal. Miriana Conte began alone inside a large disco ball, with her name displayed on the LED screens behind her. She was later joined by four dancers, bringing energy and movement to the performance. At one point, a colorful coliseum appeared in the graphics, and the background screen was also used to showcase a variety of images, including dancing legs mimicked in animation and leopards.

 

• Georgia: Mariam Shengelia, Freedom
  • Postcard: Geneva
  • Performance: Georgia brought a staging with four dancers and Mariam Shengelia starting out on an elevated prop resembling a small rock. The singer then stepped off the platform and removed her initial outfit, revealing another in beige and red tones. The graphics featured various images, such as mountains and a forest. During the most intense part of the performance, warm colors dominated—reds, yellows, and oranges.

 

Another break in the competing performances, as Sandra Studer visited the commentary booths and another of the automatic finalists performed: France.

 

• France: Louane, maman
  • Postcard: Ascona
  • Performance: With the focus on Louane, the sand of an hourglass was a central element in France’s performance. A powerful ballad in which the singer showcased the full potential of her voice with a simple staging and no major extravagance focused on Louane and the message of the song.

 

 

• Denmark: Sissal, Hallucination
  • Postcard: Gruyères
  • Performance: Dark blue and black tones dominated the performance, with Sissi starting off in a sumptuous dress, which she later removed. Accompanied by four dancers, the singer spent most of the performance on a platform, which she stepped down from in the final 30 seconds, the climax of the song’s rhythm and staging as a burst of color took over the arena.

 

• Czechia: ADONX, Kiss Kiss Goodbye
  • Postcard: Riburg
  • Performance: Adonx appeared alone on stage, dressed in white with black accents. These colors also dominated the lighting throughout the performance. When the rhythm picked up, the act became more dynamic as four dancers dressed in white joined him. During the dance break, the black and white palette was replaced by warm and vibrant colors.

 

• Luxembourg: Laura Thorn, La poupée monte le son
  • Postcard: Rugisbalm
  • Performance: Interesting choice of graphic effects at the beginning of the performance, where Laura Thorn appeared as if she were a doll in a dollhouse… with an old television broadcasting France Gall’s performance of Poupée de cire, poupée de son — the inspiration for this Luxembourgish entry. Always framed by the dollhouse backdrop, the singer was joined by five dancers. In the final part, she removed her initial dress to reveal a silver outfit underneath. Pink dominated the visual identity of the performance.

 

• Israel: Yuval Raphael, New Dau Will Rise
  • Postcard: Morcote
  • Performance: Israel has one of the strongest and most emotional ballads of this edition. Yuval Raphael appeared on stage dressed in black, next to a tower with stairs, which the singer climbed at one point. On the background LED screen, a stormy ocean could be seen. In the last chorus, a curtain of fireworks appeared. At the end, white dominated the entire stage, contrasting with Yuval Raphael’s black dress.

 

After Israel’s performance, the hosts gave an explanation about the ESC’s Big 5. It set the stage for the last of the automatic finalists to perform in this semifinal: Germany’s representatives, Abor & Tynna.

 

• Germany: Abor & Tynna, Baller
  • Postcard: Basel
  • Performance: The last automatic finalists to take the stage, Abor & Tynna started in different positions: Abor at the front playing a cello, Tynna at the back on an elevated platform resembling sound columns. A dynamic performance, with interaction between the artists and the cameras, accompanied by three dancers. A nightclub atmosphere on the ESC stage.

 

• Serbia: Princ, Mila
  • Postcard: Vaz/Obervaz
  • Performance: With Princ, there were four dancers on stage who began by surrounding him, all enveloped in mist with blue-toned lighting. The LED screens were heavily used to display graphics, creating a visual backdrop. In the most intense part of the song, the staging shifted to red tones and pyrotechnics, with lots of movement from Princ and his dancers, who came to the front of the stage.

 

• Finland: Erika Vikman, Ich komme
  • Postcard: Appenzell
  • Performance: Finland delivered the boldest performance of this year’s edition on all fronts. Erika Vikman, dressed in a provocative black outfit, took the stage alone with her microphone – always in motion, just like the dynamic and colorful stage lighting. At the climax of the song, she climbed onto a giant microphone stand, with the title of the song appearing on the LED screen behind her and fireworks bursting from the end of the structure.

 

Once the night’s competing performances concluded, voting was opened and the first recap of the songs was broadcast. The cancellation of ESC 2020 due to the pandemic was then mentioned ahead of the first interval act.

This featured four songs and their respective performers who would have taken part in that edition: Destiny, All of My Love (Malta); Efendi, Cleopatra (Azerbaijan); Gjon’s Tears, Répondez-moi (Switzerland); and The Roop, On Fire (Lithuania).

After a second recap of the competing songs, the voting window was closed. A video was then shown featuring Eurovision super-fans interviewed by the hosts, followed by an interpretative dance number titled «On Time».

The show continued with a visit to the green room for artist interviews and a look back at what happened in the first semi-final, before the announcement of the finalists: Lithuania, Israel, Armenia, Denmark, Austria, Luxembourg, Finland, Latvia, Malta, and Greece.

The show ended with a recap of the ten qualifying songs and the closing credits, with Sandra Studer performing Insieme: 1992, the song with which Toto Cutugno represented Italy in 1990.

 

Results

(Click on song titles to watch the performances)

• Qualifiers
  • Austria: JJ / Wasted Love
  • Armenia: PARG / Survivor
  • Denmark: Sissal / Hallucination
  • Finland: Erika Vikman / Ich komme
  • Greece: Klavdia / Asteromata
  • Israel: Yuval Raphael / New Dau Will Rise
  • Latvia: Tautumeitas / Bur man laimi
  • Lithuania: Katarsis / Tavo akys
  • Luxembourg: Laura Thorn / La poupée monte le son
  • Malta: Miriana Conte / Serving
• Eliminated
  • Australia: Go-Jo / Milkshake Man
  • Czechia: ADONX / Kiss Kiss Goodbye
  • Georgia: Mariam Shengelia / Freedom
  • Ireland: EMMY/ Laika Party
  • Montenegro: Nina Žižić / Dobrodošli
  • Serbia: Princ / Mila

 

Finalists

(Click on song titles to watch the performances in the semi-finals)

• • Albania: Shkodra Elektronike / Zjerm
  • Austria: JJ / Wasted Love
  • Armenia: PARG / Survivor
  • Denmark: Sissal / Hallucination
  • Estonia: Tommy Cash / Espresso Macchiato
  • Finland: Erika Vikman / Ich komme
  • Greece: Klavdia / Asteromata
  • Iceland: Væb / RÓA
  • Israel: Yuval Raphael / New Dau Will Rise
  • Italy: Lucio Corsi, Volevo essere un duro
  • Latvia: Tautumeitas / Bur man laimi
  • Lithuania: Katarsis / Tavo akys
  • Luxembourg: Laura Thorn / La poupée monte le son
  • Malta: Miriana Conte / Serving
  • Netherlands: Claude / C’est la vie
  • Norway: Kyle Alessandro / Lighter
  • Poland: Justyna Steczkowska / Gaja
  • Portugal: NAPA / Deslocado
  • San Marino: Gabry Ponte / Tutta l’Italia
  • Spain: Melody, Esa diva
  • Sweden: KAJ / Bara bada bastu
  • Switzerland: Zoë Më, Voyage
  • Ukraine: Ziferblat / Bird of Pray
  • France: Louane / Maman
  • Germany: Abor & Tynna / Baller
  • United Kingdom: Remember Monday / What the Hell Just Happened?