By Neil Durham

WHEN?: 8pm (UK time) 17 May 2025

WHERE?: St Jakobshalle, Basel, Switzerland

HOW DO I WATCH?: BBC1 in the UK SVT Also eurovision.tv

2025 appears very much to be the year of Finland but will it be the country’s Erika Vikman (pictured) who triumphs or the Finns singing a sauna song for favourites Sweden?

• Read on for reasons including how we predict the finalists will perform on 17 May

1. NORWAY: Kyle Alessandro Lighter (Adam Woods, Kyle Alessandro) PREDICTION: 16th to 20th

We normally love Norway’s Melodi Grand Prix but after losing Laika Party by Emmy to Ireland and then under-producing Bobbysocks’ return, it was left to the song with all the bangs and whistles and a decent performance but a fairly tame lyric at its heart to walk the show. Benefits from the Revolution that Mans Zelmerlow was promising not quite making it to Basel. Decent upbeat opener.

2. LUXEMBOURG Laura Thorn La Poupée Monte Le Son (The doll turns up the volume) (Julien Salvia;
Ludovic-Alexandre Vidal) PREDICTION: 16 to 20th

An updated homage 60 years after France Gall won Eurovision with Poupée de cire, poupée de son (Wax doll, sound doll) for Luxembourg. This is given a youthful, upbeat performance, we’re so glad to have the country back in the contest and have sky-high hopes for this.

3. ESTONIA Tommy Cash Espresso Macchiato (Tomas, Tammemets, Johannes Naukkarinen) PREDICTION: 11th to 15th

It seems curious for Estonia to have chosen a comedy novelty entry with stereotypical lyrics including: ‘Mi like to fly privati with twenty-four carati, Also mi casa very grandioso’ and ‘Mi money numeroso, I work around the clocko, That’s why I’m sweating like a mafioso.’ We had some sympathy with disqualified Eurovision contestant Joost last year although that evaporated with his charmless duet with Cash, bizarrely, in response to the EBU.

4. ISRAEL Yuval Raphael New Day Will Rise (Keren Peles) PREDICTION: 6th to 10th

Raphael was attending the Nova Sukkot Gathering music festival in Re’im on 7 October 2023, when Hamas militants attacked the festival. New Day Will Rise is co-written by the author of last year’s Hurricane which finished 5th and contains elements in French and Hebrew although is predominantly in English. This is an uplifting piano-led ballad likely to benefit from those wishing to show this country their support.

5. LITHUANIA Katarsis Tavo Akys (Your eyes) (Lukas Radzevičius) PREDICTION: 21st to 26th

The most hardcore indie in this year’s contest. There are elements of Radiohead about it. An unpleasing and challenging struggle through a song without a hook. Making the final was its victory.

6. SPAIN Melody Esa Diva (That diva) (Alberto Fuentes Lorite) ESC PREDICTION: 16th to 20th

Producers Thomas G:son, Peter Boström and Joy Deb give us a click of castanets and a strum of Spanish guitar. There are acrobatics and she hit the big note after fluffing it in the semi to win Benidorm Fest. Melody is a child star and had her 1st smash aged just 10 with El Baile Del Gorila (Gorilla dance) and has had hits from 6 albums in 15 countries. This is female-fronted pop in a similar vein to our initial favourites Sonia y Selena where Melody’s performance was knockout.

7. UKRAINE: Ziferblat Bird Of Prey (Valentyn Leshchynskyi, Daniil Leshchynskyi, Fedir Hodakov) PREDICTION: 16th to 20th

We’re sure Ukraine wouldn’t want to win Eurovision on the wave of a sympathy vote following US President Donald Trump’s handling of the war with Russia. This is a melodic, alternative indie rock band with pleasing elements that did well to qualify.

8. UK Remember Monday What The Hell Just Happened? (Charlotte Steele, Holly-Anne Hull, Julie Aagaard, Kes Kamara, Lauren Byrne, Sam Brennan, Thomas Stengaard, Tom Hollings) ESC PREDICTION: 11th to 15th

The last time a girl group represented the UK at Eurovision was in 1999 when Precious sang Say It Again to 12th in Jerusalem. Trio Lauren Byrne, Holly-Anne Hull and Charlotte Steele met while at Farnborough Sixth Form College in Hampshire and competed in The Voice UK in 2019. With them as 1 of the co-writers of their entry is Thomas Stengaard who had a credit on the 2013 Eurovision winner Only Teardrops for Denmark. We’re impressed they were selected for Eurovision before the entry had been written and this evokes The Beatles, Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody and Girls Aloud’s Biology while the video gives it a Last Dinner Party feel. Plenty to work with here to make it memorable.

9. AUSTRIA JJ Wasted Love (Johannes Pietsch, Teodora Špirić) PREDICTION: 1st to 5th

Co-writer Špirić represented Austria as half of Teya and Salena who finished 15th in 2023 with Who The Hell Is Edgar?. As we write, this is joint favourite with KAJ to win although we’re not loving the combination of falsetto and pop-opera that others are finding quite so appealing. Singer Johannes Pietsch, or JJ, was born in Vienna to an Austrian IT specialist and a Filipino cook and grew up in Dubai. Competed in The Voice UK and Austria’s talent show Starmania. If he can produce the live vocal, this could be the jury winner. Beautifully and memorably staged.

10. ICELAND Væb (Vibe) Róa (Row) (Gunnar Björn Gunnarsson, Hálfdán Helgi Matthíasson, Ingi Þór Garðarsson, Matthías Davíð Matthíasson) PREDICTION: 21st to 26th

Norway’s Kyle Alessandro (see above) tried to represent his country in 2023 as part of group Umami Tsunami where it’s impossible to separate group from backing dancers, and that reminds us of this Bacofoil-wrapped entry by Icelandic brothers Væb. Like Alessandro’s 2025 entry, there’s oddly a bit of Irish jig and fiddle in the mix but this national final winning entry felt a bit shouty and amateurish.

11. LATVIA Tautumeitas Bur Man Laimi (Bring me happiness) (Asnate Rancane; Aurelija Rancane; Elvis Lintins; Laura Licite; Gabriela Zvaigznite) PREDICTION: 21st to 26th

We have rainfall and the beaded curtains from Malou Prytz‘s failed MF performance this year. The song offers precious little to hold onto however.

12. NETHERLANDS: Claude (Arno Krabman, Claude Kiambe, Joren van der Voort, Léon Palmen) PREDICTION: 1st to 5th

Congolese-born Dutch singer-songwriter Claude had a number 1 single in the Netherlands in 2022, Ladada (Mon dernier mot) (My Last Word). Reminding of some of the more melodic and beautiful French entries of recent times. Sung well, this could be 1 to watch. Loved the semi 1 performance. A contender for a surprise win.

13. FINLAND Erika Vikman Ich Komme (I’m coming) (Christel Roosberg, Jori Roosberg) PREDICTION: 1st to 5th

A song of the month for us in February. We said: ‘Vikman (pictured above) writhes like a young Madonna in the video in a paddling pool filled with a jelly-like substance while singing in Finnish lyrics including: ‘I am Erika, you’re full of stamina, hit me once again, grab my ass, and when you want more love, just shout: ‘Encore!’ and baby I’m coming.’

Subtle it isn’t but the music is euphoric, 80s-inspired pop with handclaps and even a shout of ‘Wunderbar!’ thrown in to ensure points from German speakers.

Eurovision is a Saturday night family show with an 8pm start time if you’re watching in the west and critics have pointed to last year’s failure by Olly Alexander to score in the public vote attributing it to its sexy gay male aesthetic.

2 years earlier Chanel won Spain its best result for 27 years with a routine that saw her repeatedly flash her buttocks in a suggestive heterosexual sense so perhaps Vikman is onto something.

For us it’s important she has agency and is not exploited and that feels the case here. She’s also no stranger to controversy in Eurovision after winning the public vote but eventually finishing 2nd in UMK in 2020 with a song called Cicciolina, inspired by the Hungarian-Italian pornographic actress-turned-politician Ilona Staller, also known by her stage name Cicciolina.

The UMK routine reminded us of our favourite Melodifestivalen performance of all time when we saw Lena Philipsson both win in Swedish in Stockholm in 2004 and then switch to English where we saw her romp to 5th before our very eyes in a strong Istanbul final.

14. ITALY Lucio Corsi Volevo essere un duro (I wanted to be a tough guy) (Lucio Corsi, Tommaso Ottomano) ESC PREDICTION: 6th to 10th

The song that came 2nd in the San Remo Festival and winner Olly with Balorda nostalgia (Stupid nostalgia) would’ve been so much better than this panstick-faced pianist who dons guitar to attract interest in this midtempo plodder with Bowie aspirations that is likely to be a juries’ song.

15. POLAND: Justyna Steczkowska Gaja (Gaia) (Justyna Steczkowska; Dominic Buczkowski-Wojtaszek; Patryk Kumór; Emilian Waluchowski) PREDICTION: 6th to 10th

Like Spain’s entry this year, there’s at least half a dozen things too many going on in the performance but it is anchored by a terrific powerhouse vocal. This Polish singer, songwriter and photographer represented Poland 30 years ago with the song Sama (Alone), finishing 18th. She was almost entirely alone as a woman in semi 1 and could well give Poland its best result since Michal Szpak finished 8th in 2016.

16. GERMANY Abor & Tynna Baller (Shoot) (Alexander Hauer, Attila Bornemisza, Tünde Bornemisza) ESC PREDICTION: 6th to 10th

TV producer Stefan Raab who masterminded this entry has competed in Eurovision, written Germany’s entry and found the country’s last winner Lena who sang Satellite in 2010. Baller is from Abor and Tynna’s already-available album and offers credible, 90s dance-influenced pop which we’re starting to love. Enjoy it mostly being in its native tongue.

17. GREECE Klavdia Asteromata (Starry Eyed) (Arcade, Klavdia Papadopoulou) PREDICTION: 16 to 20th

Hats off for selecting something immediately recognisable as being from its country. The vocal’s strong and this strikes us a jury effort rather than a televote crowdpleaser.

18. ARMENIA: PARG Survivor (Alex Wilke, Armen Paul, Benjamin Alasu, Eva Voskanian, Joshua Curran, Martin Mooradian, Pargev Vardanyan, Thomas G:son) PREDICTION: 21st to 26th

This entry offers a stomping 70s glam rock beat, an unusually gruff vocal and an unexpected songwriting credit for Eurovision royalty G:son. Surprised us to beat Australia to the final in the semi 2 battle of the topless men.

19. SWITZERLAND Zoë Më Voyage (Zoë Alina Kressler) ESC PREDICTION: 11th to 15th

Zoë Më was born in host city Basel and this is occasionally whimsical, ethereal and in French. About three-quarters of the way through it almost realises it’s got a lot of work to do and picks up a little. Beautifully staged however and let’s hope its performance goes without a hitch on Saturday unlike its semi 1 appearance.

20. MALTA Miriana Conte Serving (Benjamin Schmid, Miriana Conte, Matthew Mercieca, Sarah Evelyn Fullerton) PREDICTION: 11th to 15th

The EBU decided the original Maltese title Kant (Song) was too similar to arguably the most expletive word in the English language and, as we write, we wondered whether Malta would opt instead for Can’t as its title or just choose to leave a gap in the song for the live audience to chant. Quite frankly, this should have been sorted out before the song was selected but we blame broadcaster PBS rather than the EBU. The song is a bit of a 1-trick pony without its RuPaul-esque original title yet still controversial enough to get Malta’s best ever Eurovision result since Destiny finished 7th in 2021.

21. PORTUGAL Napa Deslocado (Displaced) (João Lourenço Gomes, João Rodrigues, Diogo Góis, Francisco Sousa, André Santos, Guilherme Gomes) PREDICTION: 21st to 26th

Neither won the jury nor public vote. We admire the Portuguese selection show Festival da Canção for doing its own thing and appearing to care little for international juries and the success at Eurovision of their selected songs. That perhaps explain the big hit or big miss nature of the country’s results there. Musically, if the goal was to remind of everything dreary about 70s middle-of-the-road music, it’s job done.

22. DENMARK: Sissal Hallucination (Chris Rohde-Frisk, Lina Spangsberg, Linnea Deb, Malthe Johansen, Marcus Winther-John, Melanie Gabriella Hayrapetian) PREDICTION: 21st to 26th

Best Danish entry since 2010 when close friends Chanée and N’evergreen romped to 4th in a Eurovision we attended in Oslo, Norway. Sissal is a Faroese singer and this is a dancefloor banger drawing on 90s inspirations which is bang on trend but it’s charismatically delivered in a memorable booming voice also. Will benefit from Belgium’s brilliant Strobe Lights inexplixably missing out in progressing from semi 1.

23. SWEDEN KAJ Bara Badu Bastu (Let’s Just Sauna) (Anderz Wrethov, Axel Åhman, Jakob Norrgård, Kevin Holmström, Kristoffer Strandberg, Robert Skowronski) PREDICTION: 1st to 5th

Sweden’s last entry in its own language in Eurovision was in 1998 when Jill Johnson sang the gorgeous Kärleken är (Love is). Presented with the choice between a potential winner, the revolutionary return of 2015 Eurovision winner Måns Zelmerlöw and a song about 3 men deciding to just have a sauna together instead, the Swedes went for … A comedy entry in a niche Swedish/Finnish dialect. Always going to be difficult to judge for a non-Swedish speaker how this might land. More interval act than serious entry we’ve upgraded our expectations for it on the basis of its surprise Melfest win. Surely Eurovision’s serious final juries won’t let this jolly romp anywhere near winning the whole thing outright though?

24. FRANCE Louane Maman (Mom) (Anne Peichert, Tristan Salvati) ESC PREDICTION: 1st to 5th

France were the 1st country to reveal their entry in 2024 and the last this year. Louane is a French singer and actress who was a semi finalist in the French edition of The Voice in 2013. She’s released 4 albums selling 3 million copies and 20 singles including Avenir (Future) which topped the French chart in 2014. The words rugby union and Eurovision are rarely found in the same sentence but such is the confidence of the French that this song was premiered at half time in the country’s Six Nations’ clash with Scotland. Big vocal of a dramatic song with a cute ending. Not too keen on the sand though.

25. SAN MARINO Gabry Ponte Tutta l’Italia (All Of Italy) (Gabry Ponte, Andrea Bonomo, Edwyn Roberts) PREDICTION: 11th to 15th

Once again San Marino’s entry feels like Italy’s reserve choice. In many ways a balance to the casual stereotyping of Estonia’s entry but at the same time feeling a little removed from the country it’s supposed to be representing. A football chant nonetheless and surpassing this country’s previous best of 19th.

26. ALBANIA: Shkodra Elektronike Zjerm (Fire) (Beatriçe Gjergji) PREDICTION: 6th to 10th

1 of the 1st songs to be selected and this is folktronica where the central motif of the song is Fire, Zjerm, symbolizing power, purification, and renewal. It is described as drawing on tribal dances, a link between tradition and change, calling for spiritual and social healing, and a recognition of the dignity of all people, even those who may be forgotten or marginalized.

• Main picture via Facebook courtesy  Remember Monday Tickets
• Have you seen a Eurovision final before and what do you think of this 1? Tickets
• Let us know what you thought in the comments below. Our predictions for the pre-qualified 2025 Eurovision Song Contest finalists. Semi 2 predictions. Semi final 1 predictions
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