All the songs, all the acts, all the winners The first 10 finalists have been announced - Céline Dion provided the emotional highlight

The first big show of this year's Eurovision Song Contest in Basel is history. The first 10 finalists have been chosen. Céline Dion provided the emotional highlight.

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ESC summary

Fire? Check. Birds? Lots of them. And two presenters with a dry sense of humor. Musically unsurprising, but: the ESC delivers what it promises, even in Switzerland. We continue with the second semi-final on Thursday. 9 pm, same time, same place. Blue News will of course accompany you live through the show.

Beaming faces and "don't be sad"

I will miss Belgium. And Cyprus.

The finalists from the 1st semi-final have been announced!

Norway, Albania, Sweden, Iceland, Netherlands, Poland, San Marino, Estonia, Portugal and Ukraine are in the final on Saturday.

23:24

The last ticket ...

... goes to: Ukraine!

Surprise?

Portugal in the Fado final on Saturday despite poor betting odds.

Reactions in the St. Jakobshalle to Tommy Cash's entry into the final

Estonia in the mix

Tommy Cash serves us another espresso macchiato.

The techno pope from San Marino

We also hear Gabry Ponte with "Tutta l'Italia" again on Saturday.

The dragons on high heels

"Welcome to the grand final", Poland

The fifth country in the final

Also a favorite: Holland has made it.

Iceland!

We'll also see Scooter's twins on Saturday.

Sweden!

The sauna-goers are unsurprisingly in the final.

Albania is through!

Norway is through!

The first country in the final!

The nail-biter begins ...

but not for us! We are through! Out of competition!

Our presenters surprise as break clowns

Hazel and Sandra entertain the audience with Roger Federer cushions and finches aka "Schläppli". Even the Swedes melt.

Internationality with seven countries

Speaking of Céline Dion - she competed for Switzerland as a Canadian in 1988. Many countries are also showing this internationality in 2025. A total of seven nations will be represented by artists who were born in or live in another country. A Norwegian will sing for Ireland, Sweden will be represented by Finnish musicians and Germany will send Austrians with Hungarian-Romanian roots into the race. The Czech singer comes from Slovakia and the Dutch act was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo. An Italian will be on stage for San Marino, while Croatia will be represented by a singer from Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Céline Dion!

Céline Dion addresses emotional words to the audience on the big screen. 37 years after her ESC victory for Switzerland with "Ne partez pas sans moi", she reminds us of the unifying power of music. Now various artists are reinterpreting her legendary winning song.

22:59

Céline Dion in the ESC final?

Sven Epiney teases news about the 1988 ESC star before the break. The rumor mill is churning. Will the superstar perform in Basel on Saturday?

The voting is over!

According to the betting offices, tonight's favorites are Sweden and Belgium, followed by the Netherlands. Then Switzerland, but we are, I'll say it again, out of contention. Albania also have a good chance of reaching the final (yes!). Portugal and Azerbaijan, on the other hand, are on the fence with the betting agencies. We'll know more soon!

Thank you, Hazel

Switzerland is not known for its humor, but even Sven Epiney gives this performance 12 points.

Self-deprecating, cringe or funny?

Hazel Brugger and Sandra Studer take the piss out of Switzerland during the break. Well ... I think it's great.

But it costs ...

By the way: Voting costs 1.20 francs per vote. A maximum of 20 votes are allowed, so if you go all out, you'll invest 24 francs for your favorite song.

Call now!

My ESC review problem: As soon as the songs are shown one after the other, suddenly they are all my favorites.

The last song of the evening: Off to the workout with Cyprus!

Say no more, Theo Evan. Eurodance. I'm in! "Shh". The voting starts next.

Picture problems - now of all times!

So far, the show has run smoothly. And now this: during Zoë Më's performance of all things, the picture freezes. The picture freezes several times, but the sound can still be heard. Let's hope that doesn't happen again in the final...

Sea of lights in the audience for the Swiss entry

From a neutral Swiss point of view, we agree, don't we? Zoë was convincing!

Zoë Më with "Voyage"

Now Switzerland! Out of competition! Because we are so in the final (seeded). But Zoë Më is convincing anyway. Calm and powerful vocals.

Frankenstein or Dracula?

Croatia with dark ballad fare: "Poison Cake" by Marko Bošnjak - or is it Timothée Chalamet? Dark tones, big feelings! And loooogically: pyro is a must.

No, that's not France!

And another favorite: "C'est la vie" by Claude for the Netherlands is a tribute to his mother. You can sing along to the melody before the chorus even starts. That's good, isn't it?

Albania with another (!) "fiery" contribution

Shkodra Elektronike with "Zjerm" is one of my favorites of the evening so far. Mystical! Albania offers us a techno church service.

San Marino meets Ballermann

I love the gum-chewing statue of David in the background. 12 points. The track from San Marino combines electronic beats with, well, what? Exactly, the secret ingredient of the ESC: traditional sounds. Gabry Ponte with "Tutta l'Italia"

Helium?

Azerbaijan provides epic images, a flying ring, a semi-circle, pyro-fire of course. But: the singer's voice and the show are going their separate ways tonight.

Random facts

By the way: around 250 people work behind the scenes at the ESC, with production running around the clock for 45 days. 6500 tickets have been sold for each of the three shows and fans are traveling from over 83 countries.

Italy impresses with a nostalgic performance

Lucio Corsi brings glam-rock fairytales to the ESC stage. Bowie meets Burton, piano (a very long one!) forever, mouth organ included.

Red Sebastian is wearing ...

RED! I like Belgium's contribution. Eurodance and the raves of the 90s. Party! Robotic dance moves like 30 years ago. By the way, Red Sebastian is inspired by the red crab Sebastian from "Ariel the Mermaid". Cute!

Norway burns free!

19-year-old Kyle Alessandro stands between two stone posts in half knight's armor and fights his way out of a toxic relationship through dance. The youngest ESC participant! Oh dear! He lights a fire on stage with "Lighter". Three knight dancers support him. Fire, armor, self-discovery - the full ESC package.

Portugal's indie band NAPA with "Deslocado"

Melancholic fado cools the St. Jakobshalle down a little after the heated Swedes. Or does it?

The favorites from Sweden are sweating on stage!

With "Bara Bada Bastu", the Finnish-Swedish trio KAJ brings a humorous homage to Scandinavian sauna culture to the ESC stage.

Ziferblat for the Ukraine

The trio from Kiev, Danylo and Valentyn Leshchynskyi (vocals and guitar) and Fedir Khodakov (drums) bring another emotional contribution to the ESC stage with "Bird of Pray". The song deals with the separation of loved ones due to war and plays with the ambiguity of "pray" and "prey". A musical message for peace and reunification. To stick with the celebrity comparisons: Freddy Mercury, anyone?

Spain with Melody and "Esa Diva"

Spain has been waiting 56 years for the ESC title! Oh my! Spanish performer Melody sings about divas - courageous women like her mother. The song is out of competition, Spain is one of the "big five". Is it just me, or is anyone else getting Beyoncé vibes from Melody? The reactions in the audience show: The song is infectious!

We are as proud as Oscars

Sandra and Hazel take us "down the memory lane" and the biggest Swiss hits: DJ Bobo, DJ Antoine, we can really be proud of our music history. Haha.

The ESC is well and truly launched!

Tommy Cash for Estonia serves us: avant-garde rap with a caffeine boost. "Espresso Macchiato" is a satirical sideswipe at Italian clichés and stereotypes. Electroswing meets absurd performance. The first humorous contribution of the evening, but one that caused controversy in Italy and elsewhere. Tommy Cash sips his espresso on stage, flanked by four bodyguards.

Emotions! And even more emotions

After the epic Polish dragon from before, now a Slovenian angel. Oh! Clement's wife has entered the stage! They are kissing!

Starting number 3: Slovenia

Klemen for Slovenia delivers an emotional moment: calm music, a sea of stars, pictures from the family album and of his wife, who has beaten cancer.

Epic record comeback!

Poland is next! Justyna represents the country again 30 years after her first ESC appearance. That's the longest gap in ESC history. Fire and Ice on stage! The song combines English and Polish lyrics and ends with Slavic mantras symbolizing positive energy and protection ... Electronic beats and traditional Slavic sounds. We know it from the ESC, we love it!

21:12

The competition starts with Iceland

Sandra Studer and Hazel Brugger announce the first contenders for the semi-finals. Iceland it is! VÆB ("Vibe") with the song RÓA. That means "to row". And that's also what the stage set looks like, the boys sing from a boat. Wild! Are these the twins from Scooter?

21:08

Sven Epiney is already in full swing

Excerpts from presenter Sandra Studer's ESC performances, she took 5th place back then. Sven Epiney thinks Sandra still looks the same as she did back then. "Great woman!" he thinks.

21:05

"What a start!"

Sven Epiney also thinks so. The jubilant St. Jakobshalle is sold out, the atmosphere is enthusiastic with the combination of tradition and modernity. United by music, so to speak.

21:04

Acrobatics and singing!

There are so many impressions, I'm speechless. The AI mountain landscape in the background of the stage performance is sure to attract even more tourists to Switzerland soon.

21:00

Yodeling! The Swiss cliché is alive! Dramatic!

Sven Epiney off-stage, the ESC has begun. It starts with 45 dancers on a mountainous stage.

20:58

It's about to start!

Is the semi-final less spectacular today? At least Switzerland is out of the competition this time! As the host country, the place in the final is guaranteed. Woohoo!

20:56

"We thought there would be more glittery looks here!"

Leonie, Bettina, Lisa and Samuel have already celebrated the afternoon show today. Their highlight: great standing room, acts within easy reach and a superbly built stage. Only the audience was a little reserved: "Lots of cell phones in hand, not much atmosphere."

For her, one thing is clear: "Estonia wins. Sweden had enough victories, and unfortunately we didn't really see Switzerland."

20:44

From the YouTube Rabbit Hole to Basel

A couple from Colorado are experiencing their first ESC live. In 2013, Ellen discovered the ESC performers from Finland on YouTube and immediately infected her partner KC with the ESC virus. After Nemo's victory, it was clear: "We're traveling to the winning country!" Next year they want to celebrate their honeymoon at the ESC. This year's favorite? Finland, of course!

20:37

Exuberant atmosphere on site

Our reporter on site, Yannik Tschan, reports from the Village Hall: the atmosphere is exuberant, the hall is full! Basel is ready for the big ESC party!

20:33

ESC live from Basel

Thanks to Nemo's victory last year, the ESC 2025 will take place in the St. Jakobshalle in Basel. First a bit of history: the ESC was held in Switzerland for the first time in 1956: Lugano was the venue. Lausanne followed in 1989, and Basel in 2025!

20:30

It's about to start! The blue News team is ready!

The team consists of just me. But I'm betting for two.

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