City fought off competition from Berne, Geneva and Zurich to host event, which began in Switzerland in 1956
The Swiss city of Basel will host Eurovision in 2025, as the song contest’s 69th edition returns to the country where it was born in 1956.
The Alpine republic won the right to host next year’s event after the Swiss artist Nemo won the 2024 contest with the song The Code.
Continue reading...Klein may be charged over alleged threats and face a fine if convicted, after a member of the production crew made a complaint to police
Joost Klein, the Netherlands’ Eurovision contestant who was disqualified from the competition just hours before the grand final, will probably be charged with making illegal threats, Swedish police have said.
The 26-year-old favourite to win was expelled from the competition in Malmö, unprecedented in the 68-year history of Eurovision, after a female member of the production crew made a complaint about an alleged “backstage incident” to Swedish police.
Continue reading...Saturday night’s final watched by average of 7.64m as Britain’s entry Olly Alexander finished in 18th place
Eurovision lost almost a quarter of its UK viewers compared with last year’s Liverpool extravaganza, amid a row over Israel’s participation.
Saturday night’s grand final on the BBC was watched by an average of 7.64 million people, peaking at 8.46 million, according to official figures provided by the agency Digital i. Britain’s entry, Olly Alexander, finished in 18th place with 46 points after he was awarded zero in the public vote.
Continue reading...Avorotros says Joost Klein’s disqualification ‘disproportionate’ after incident involving female member of production crew
The Dutch broadcaster who sent the country’s entry to Eurovision has said the decision to disqualify its contestant from the song contest just hours before the start of tonight’s grand final was “disproportionate”.
Dutch singer and rapper Joost Klein was excluded from the main show due to an incident involving a female member of the production crew, the competition’s organisers announced earlier in the day.
Continue reading...High-profile parties including London’s biggest viewing event called off amid ongoing offensive in Gaza
Eurovision is one of the biggest nights of the year for many LGBTQ+ venues across the UK, offering an opportunity for a joyful party celebrating music and high camp.
Celebrations will be mixed this year, however, after a number of high-profile events were cancelled in protest at Israel’s participation.
Continue reading...Competing rallies are on the streets, Netherlands’ entrant is under investigation and others complain music is being overshadowed
The official motto of the 68th edition of Eurovision is “united by music”, but as the continent’s beglittered and sequined masses descended on the Swedish city of Malmö for Saturday’s grand final, music’s ability to heal and bridge divides was looking in serious doubt.
In the run-up to the song contest’s main event, the Netherlands’ performer Joost Klein missed his slot in two dress rehearsals after being put under investigation by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) due to an unexplained “incident”.
Continue reading...Thousands had marched against the country’s inclusion in Saturday’s final but Eden Golan’s entry was voted through
Israel has made it through to the final of the Eurovision song contest, setting the stage for a tense and politically charged event in Malmö on Saturday.
At Thursday’s second semi-final in Sweden’s third largest city, viewers from the competing countries backed the Israeli singer Eden Golan as one of the 10 entries to progress.
Continue reading...While Europe’s lingua franca remains dominant, there has been a definite shift since a Portuguese song triumphed in 2017
There was a time when in order to win Eurovision you had to “fly on the wings of love”, “take me to your heaven” or “sail into infinity while reaching for divinity”. This year, however, there’s a fair chance the winner will estar comiendo el mundo (be eating the world), ridere in queste notti bruciate (laugh in these burnt nights), or even drukkje min broderѕ blod (drink my brother’s blood).
The metaphors may have been mixed, but for the first two decades of the 21st century, the English language reigned supreme at the Eurovision song contest. In the run-up to the millennium, the so-called language rule restricted English songs to countries that counted it among their official languages, such as Britain, Ireland and Malta. But when the rule was scrapped in 1999, the floodgates opened.
Continue reading...The former Years and Years singer and star of It’s a Sin signed a joint response affirming a stance against ‘all forms of hate, including antisemitism and Islamophobia’
Britain’s Eurovision competitor Olly Alexander and several other entrants have rejected calls to boycott this year’s Eurovision song contest owing to its inclusion of Israel among the competitors, stating their belief in “the unifying power of music, enabling people to transcend differences and foster meaningful conversations and connections”.
Maxine Peake and the author Sarah Schulman were among a list of more than 450 queer artists, individuals and organisations who signed an open letter as Queers for Palestine calling on Alexander – the former Years and Years singer and star of Channel 4’s It’s a Sin – to pull out of the contest in solidarity with Palestine.
Continue reading...Maxine Peake and Sarah Schulman among signatories of open letter asking singer to withdraw from contest
More than 450 queer artists, individuals and organisations have called on the UK’s Eurovision contestant, Olly Alexander, to boycott this year’s competition in solidarity with Palestine.
The actor Maxine Peake and the novelist and playwright Sarah Schulman are among the signatories of the open letter calling on the singer to withdraw from the contest in May due to the conflict in Gaza.
Continue reading...Song amended after organisers banned entry for seeming references to 7 October attacks, which broke rules on political neutrality
Israel will be allowed to compete at the Eurovision song contest after changing the lyrics to its song, organisers have confirmed.
Eden Golan, representing Israel at this year’s competition, originally submitted a ballad called October Rain, widely thought to reference the Hamas attacks of 7 October. However, the entry was barred on the grounds of breaking rules on political neutrality.
Continue reading...National broadcaster says it agreed to make changes after request from country’s president
Israel has agreed to revise the lyrics of its potential submission to the Eurovision song contest after organisers took issue with verses that appeared to reference Hamas’s 7 October attack.
The contest, which will take place from 7 to 11 May in the Swedish city of Malmö, can disqualify contestants deemed to have breached its rules on political neutrality. Kan, Israel’s national broadcaster, is tasked with choosing the country’s entry.
Continue reading...Isaac Herzog said ‘haters try to drive us off every stage’ as lyrics to October Rain scrutinised by organisers
Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog, wants to ensure the country competes in the Eurovision song contest after the event’s organisers said they were examining whether the lyrics sung by the Israeli contestant were too political.
“I think it’s important for Israel to appear in Eurovision, and this is also a statement because there are haters who try to drive us off every stage,” Herzog said on Sunday, the Times of Israel reported. “Being smart is not just being right,” he added.
Continue reading...Organisers considering if lyrics breach non-political rules a week after giving Israel all-clear to participate
The organisers of the Eurovision song contest have said they are “scrutinising” the lyrics of Israel’s entry after it was claimed it makes reference to the Hamas attacks on 7 October.
The lyrics from Israel’s entry, October Rain, sung by Eden Golan, were leaked to the media. According to the Israel Hayom newspaper, lines in the song include, “There’s no air left to breathe”, and “They were all good children, each one of them”. The song also refers to “flowers”, which the newspaper reported is a military code for war fatalities.
Continue reading...European Broadcasting Union’s decision follows calls for country to be excluded over Gaza war
Israel can compete in this year’s Eurovision song contest, organisers have said, despite calls for it to be excluded over the Gaza war as Russia was after invading Ukraine.
Petitions have been circulating calling for Israel to be kicked out of the event, which is being held in Malmö, Sweden, in May.
Continue reading...Public opinion divided over lyrics to Zorra, usually used to mean ‘bitch’, by electropop duo Nebulossa
It has been criticised by some as insulting to women, but hailed by the prime minister as provocative – in a good way.
Days after Spain selected its entry for this year’s Eurovision song contest, the electropop tune Zorra has rocketed to the top of the country’s music charts and divided public opinion.
Continue reading...Open letter signed by more than 1,000 musicians from 2024 host country follows petition from artists in Finland and Iceland
More than 1,000 musical artists from Eurovision host country Sweden have signed an open letter calling for Israel to be excluded from this year’s edition of the song contest over its “brutal warfare in Gaza”.
Published in Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet, the open letter says that by allowing Israel to participate, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) “is exhibiting a remarkable double standard that undermines the organisation’s credibility”.
Continue reading...Lead singer of Perth synth-metal band, which placed ninth in Eurovision, set for ‘immediate treatment’
The frontman for Voyager, Australia’s representatives at this year’s Eurovision, has announced he has been diagnosed with cancer that requires “immediate treatment”.
Danny Estrin announced the shock diagnosis on Instagram, saying he was “absolutely devastated” the band would have to cancel its upcoming European tour.
Continue reading...During a five-minute peak in the UK, 11m people were watching, while the average viewing figure was 9.9m
Saturday night’s Eurovision song contest in Liverpool was the most watched grand final in the competition’s history, the BBC has said.
In the UK, there was a five-minute peak of 11 million people watching and an average viewing figure of 9.9 million, which equates to a 63% TV audience share.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Culture minister says he was puzzled about reasoning for not allowing president to address song contest
Ukraine’s culture minister has said he was “surprised” and “confused” that Volodymyr Zelenskiy was barred from making a televised speech during the Eurovision grand final.
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the owner of Eurovision, said last week that allowing the Ukrainian president to address the contest, which is watched around the world, risked jeopardising its “non-political nature”.
Continue reading...