LONDON (AP) — Get out the glitter balls, sew on the sequins and put together to celebration: The Eurovision Track Contest approaches.
The 69th annual musical extravaganza takes place in Basel, Switzerland in Could. It’ll see acts from 37 nations vie for the continent’s musical crown in a contest that has been likened to a pop Olympics, full with triumph, tears and geopolitical rivalries.
Right here’s a information to the great world of Eurovision:
What’s Eurovision?
Eurovision is a world pop music competitors, through which acts from nations throughout Europe — and some past it — compete in a dwell televised contest. Every singer or group performs a three-minute music, with the winner determined by votes from nationwide juries and viewers world wide.
Launched in 1956 to check new live-broadcasting expertise and foster unity after World Struggle II, Eurovision has turn into a campy but heartfelt celebration of variety, nationwide pleasure and the joyous energy of pop. It has grown from seven nations to virtually 40, together with non-European nations comparable to Israel and Australia. Organizers say final 12 months’s competitors was watched by 163 million individuals world wide.
Eurovision has turn into synonymous with elaborate costumes, spectacular staging and songs that vary from anthemic to extraordinarily foolish. Previous winners embody songs with titles like “La, La, La” and “Boom Bang-a-Bang,” in addition to hovering energy ballads and slick disco dancefloor-fillers.
Previous champions vary from Sweden’s ABBA — with “Waterloo” in 1974 – to Finnish metalheads Lordi in 2006, Austrian drag performer Conchita Wurst in 2014, Italian rock band Måneskin in 2021 and Ukrainian folk-rap group Kalush Orchestra in 2022.
When and the place is Eurovision happening?
Historically the competitors is hosted by the earlier 12 months’s winner, and final 12 months’s victor was nonbinary Swiss singer Nemo with their operatic anthem “The Code.” The 2025 contest can be held on the St. Jakobshalle area in Basel, a largely German-speaking metropolis bordering France and Germany.
Two semifinals, on Could 13 and 15, can be adopted by a grand Saturday night time last on Could 17, hosted by Swiss broadcasters Hazel Brugger, Michelle Hunziker and Sandra Studer.
Switzerland is the birthplace of Eurovision — it staged the first-ever contest, and the European Broadcasting Union, which runs the present, is predicated in Geneva. It has received twice earlier than: in 1956 and in 1988, when Canadian chanteuse Celine Dion competed below the Swiss flag.
Do pop and politics combine?
Eurovision’s motto is “united by music,” an admirable objective that’s not all the time achieved.
Contest guidelines ban overtly political lyrics or symbols, however regional rivalries are rife and world tensions usually intrude. Russia has been banned since its 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Ukraine received Eurovision that 12 months, however couldn’t host in 2023 due to the continued battle, so the English metropolis of Liverpool stood in.
Final 12 months’s occasion within the Swedish metropolis of Malmo attracted giant pro-Palestinian protests that referred to as for Israel to be dropped from the competition over its conduct of its battle towards Hamas.
Tensions spilled over into the competitors, the place Israeli singer Eden Golan was given tight safety. Israel was ordered to vary the lyrics of its competing music, initially titled “October Rain,” an obvious reference to Hamas’ cross-border assault on Oct. 7, 2023 that killed some 1,200 Israelis. Renamed “Hurricane,” the ability ballad got here fifth.
Final 12 months’s contest additionally noticed Dutch contender Joost Klein expelled mid-competition after an altercation with a member of the manufacturing crew.
Organizers have tightened up the competition’s code of conduct, calling on members to respect Eurovision’s values of “universality, diversity, equality, and inclusivity” and its political neutrality.
Who’re this 12 months’s favorites?
Sweden has received Eurovision seven occasions and is bookies’ favourite to take the title once more, which might take it previous Eire for probably the most victories. Swedish entry “Bara Bada Bastu” is an upbeat ode to sauna tradition carried out by KAJ, a trio from Finland’s Swedish-speaking minority.
Additionally extremely ranked by the betting markets are classically-trained Austrian singer JJ’s “popera” music “Wasted Love,” French singer Louane’s ballad “maman,” Dutch entry Claude’s “C’est La Vie” and Israeli singer Yuval Raphael, a survivor of the Oct. 7 assaults, with “New Day Will Rise.”
Intriguing outsiders embody extremely caffeinated Estonian entry ”Espresso Macchiato” by Tony Money, Icelandic brother duo VAEB with “Róa” — it’s about rowing — and Irish entrant Emmy’s ode to a doomed house canine, “Laika Party.”
“There’s a lot of novelty acts this year,” stated Paul Jordan, an knowledgeable on the competition often known as Dr. Eurovision. “I believe it’s type of reflective of the chaos on the earth. It’s virtually like persons are searching for a little bit of escapism.
“There’s a lot of innuendo this year as well,” he stated, citing “Milkshake Man” by Australian entrant Go-Jo and “Serving” by Malta’s Miriana Conte, which has already had its title and lyrics modified on the orders of contest organizers.
How can I watch Eurovision and vote?
The competitors can be aired by nationwide broadcasters in taking part nations, on streaming service Peacock in the US and on the Eurovision YouTube channel in some nations.
Many of the acts will carry out over two semifinals that can resolve 20 to undergo to the grand last. One other six nations — France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the U.Okay. and host Switzerland — routinely qualify for the ultimate.
Voting for the winner will open at first of the ultimate on Could 17. Viewers in taking part nations can vote by telephone, textual content message or the Eurovision app — however usually are not allowed to vote for their very own nation’s act. Viewers within the U.S. and different nonparticipating nations can vote on-line or with the app.
After a voting interval, every nation in flip proclaims its jury and public voting outcomes, with the factors tallied on-screen till a winner emerges. The fast-changing rankings and suspense about whether or not any nation will get the dreaded “nul points” — zero factors — are all a part of the enjoyable.
“Everyone seems to think that Sweden has it in the bag,” Jordan stated. “But it could well be that a country sneaks up the middle.”
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For extra protection of the Eurovision Track Contest, go to: https://apnews.com/hub/eurovision-song-contest
