The Eurovision Song Contest final will see contestants from 26 countries competing, in the following order: Norway, Luxembourg, Estonia, Israel, Lithuania, Spain, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Austria, Iceland, Latvia, Netherlands, Finland, Italy, Poland, Germany, Greece, Armenia, Switzerland, Malta, Portugal, Denmark, Sweden, France, San Marino, and Albania.
Based on the average odds calculated by the dedicated website eurovisionworld.com as of 5 PM Friday, Sweden, Austria, and France are the top favorites to win this year’s contest.
Sweden is represented by the trio KAJ, formed in Finland with singers and comedians Kevin Holmström, Axel Åhman, and Jakob Norrgård. Their song, ‘Bara Bada Bastu’ (‘Go Take a Sauna’ in Portuguese), marks Sweden’s first entry in Swedish since 1998.
Austria is being represented by Austrian-Filipino countertenor JJ, known from the Austrian talent show ‘Starmania,’ who is currently performing at the Vienna Opera and has been involved in various productions. He is also studying classical music at the MUK — Music and Arts Private University of Vienna.
France’s representative, Louane, will perform ‘Maman,’ dedicated to her Luso-Brazilian mother who passed away from cancer in 2014 when Louane was 17. Louane Emera, 28, also has an acting career, winning the César Award in 2015 for Most Promising Actress for her role in ‘La Famille Bélier’ by Eric Lartigau.
Louane gained fame in her country after participating in ‘The Voice’ in 2013. Her debut album, ‘Chambre 12,’ released in 2016, became the best-selling album in France that year. She is set to perform in Portugal on April 16 next year at LAV — Lisboa ao Vivo.
Completing the top five favorites to win Eurovision are the Netherlands, with the song ‘C’est l’a vie’ by Claude, and Finland, with Erika Vikman’s ‘Ich Komme.’
Portugal stands far from the podium. As of 5:00 PM Friday, Portugal’s entry “Deslocado” by Napa ranked 25th.
While betting predictions are merely speculative, Portugal’s advancement to the final was unexpected. The country was among the lowest-ranked in the first semifinal according to betting houses. Defying those odds, Napa will perform today at St. Jakobshalle.
The 69th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest began with 37 participating countries, with only 26 making it to the final. Ten countries were chosen in Tuesday’s first semifinal, another ten in Thursday’s second semifinal, and six countries — the ‘Big5’ (Germany, Spain, France, Italy, and the UK) and the host country Switzerland, the previous year’s winner — automatically qualified for the final.
This edition has been notably marked by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, although it has been calmer this year compared to 2024, as reported by several media outlets covering the contest in Basel.
Last year in Malmö, Sweden, there were street protests and disturbances within the arena regarding Israel’s participation, with boos directed at the representative, Eden Golan, during performances.
On Thursday afternoon, six individuals were expelled from St. Jakobshalle for disrupting the Israeli representative Yuval Raphael’s rehearsal with boos and whistles. According to the EFE agency, the second semifinal proceeded without incidents that evening, with only faint boos at the start of Israel’s performance.
A year ago, around 30,000 Palestinian deaths were recorded due to Israeli military offensives in the Gaza Strip. The death toll now stands at approximately 53,000, primarily civilians, including many children.
Yuval Raphael is a survivor of the extremist Islamist group Hamas attack on Israeli soil on October 7, 2023, which resulted in about 1,200 deaths and over two hundred hostages, eventually triggering the ongoing Israeli military offensive.
This year, artists previously involved in the contest and Spain’s public broadcaster have contested Israel’s participation. Over 70 musicians, including Salvador Sobral, António Calvário, Fernando Tordo, Lena D’Água, and Paulo de Carvalho, appealed to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) to exclude Israel from participation.
In an open letter, the signatories justified their appeal by accusing the Israeli broadcaster KAN of being “complicit in the genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.” The letter, published in collaboration with the non-governmental organization Artists For Palestine and the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement, was signed by singers, composers, musicians, dancers, and choir members from various countries.
Spain’s public broadcaster RTVE requested to “open a debate” on KAN’s inclusion in the Eurovision festival, addressing the appeal to the EBU.
The RTVE’s request followed petitions in Finland in late March urging Finnish public broadcaster Yle to pressure the EBU to exclude Israel from the 2025 edition due to the conflict in Gaza.
Today’s final can be viewed live in Portugal from 8 PM on RTP1, RTP International, and the RTP Play platform.
