Who will win the ESC 2025? The latest forecasts from euroonews Culture

26 countries will compete in one of the most politically explosive Eurovision finals ever. We introduce the three artists who we think could take the trophy home.

The stage is ready. After two semi-finals, 26 countries have their place in the final of the 69. Eurovision Song Contest earned where they will compete in front of thousands of fans in the Basel St. Jakobshalle and millions of spectators around the world.

In the second semi-finals The classically trained Austrian countertenor JJ and the Maltese singer Miriana Conte made it, while the Irish singer Emmy and the Australian “Milkshake Man” Go-Jo surprisingly did not reach the final.

But it wasn’t just the music that made headlines. For the second year in a row, the motto of the Eurovision, “United by Music”, was put to the test by the fierce controversy surrounding Israel’s participation. Despite passionate boycott calls, Israel, represented by Yuval Raphael, made it to the final.

Raphael survivedHamas attack on the Nova Music Festivallast October and is now one of the favorites for the overall victory among bookmakers. But their participation has triggered violent reactions. Outside the venue, outrage swept across the streets of Basel, where hundreds of pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered and demanded an end to Israeli military operations and the exclusion of Israel from the competition.

In view of the tense situation, all eyes are now on the showdown on Saturday evening. The only question that is still open: Who (like a phoenix from the ashes) will rise above the rest and be crowned this year’s Eurovision winner?

Among the 26 finalists, these are the three countries that we think have the greatest chance of taking the winning trophy home.

KAJ – Bara Bada Bastu (Sweden)

This year’s Eurovision song from Sweden has a simple message – and we can all understand it: let’s just sauna.

If you don’t know: sauna is a big deal in the Nordic countries. It is not just an activity, but a way of life that is rooted in ritual, spiritual and community practices. There was even a World Sauna Championship that was held in Finland for over a decade (the last time someone died in 2010, but that shouldn’t cloud the mood).

It is crucial that the sauna, like all great loved ones in life, deserves a song dedicated to it – and the Finnish comedy music group KAJ has finally delivered one. Your Eurovision contribution could be the darkest so far (every pun is intended), and it is also the first Swedish-language song to be performed in the competition since 2012.

In contrast to the previous Swedish contributions, which were satisfied with the formula of the perfectly sophisticated pop anthems, KAJ decided to fuel the mood and to become outrageously silly with their cartoon-like embrace of cultural idiosyncrasies. The music video shows synchron dancers in towels and sauna bags. For heaven’s sake!

This is a refreshing change of direction for a country whose last two victories came from Loreen in 2023 and 2012. Epic electric ballads about love and emotional turbulence are nice, but maybe we needed a song about wood-paneled walls all the time.

Musically there is exactly the right amount of catchy tunes, with the whispered scream “Sauna!” like an aqueous revelation hits the hot rocks of our subconscious. In fact, the song also serves as an important reminder to give priority to self-care and solidarity in these difficult times – you have to let off a little steam from time to time, in the truest sense of the word.

I’m not the only advocate of “Bara Bada Bastu” – the song is currently the favorite with bookmakers with a 40 percent chance of winning. Sauna or not, the other participants should start to sweat. Amber Bryce

JJ – Wasted Love (Austria)

Austria hopes for its third Eurovision victory with the 23-year-old Austrian-Philippine countertenor Johannes Pietsch – also known as JJ – who could follow in the glorious footsteps of drag icon Conchita sausage in 2014.

The two definitely have a common sense of drama.

After making a name for himself in the world of classical music and using his voice as a master instrument, JJ relies on a rushing pop anthem – which, as the title suggests, deals with the agony of unrequited feelings.

“Wasted Love” is … well, it’s a lot. The cross-genre song begins as a delicate ballad about drowning in emotions and the feeling of sinking in depth. He takes a turn when JJ breaks out into an increasingly warm (and very high) complaint before turning into what the Iceberg that hit the Titanic, as a nu disco fantasy. The crescendo has it all: an explosive EDM song that once again demonstrates JJ’s remarkable range and also proves that drifting into the emotional abyss and a bop do not have to be mutually exclusive.

How to get from the ballroom to the club within two minutes and 50 seconds is a mystery to me. However, at a time when we are all trying to unravel the emotional complexities that result from the shitshow of everyday life, “Wasted Love” is a compelling case for going straight into the eye of the storm.

And maybe, just maybe, the consolation comes after the turmoil … If not, Austria still has Popera perfection in its hands, a textbook example of how Eurovision songs should sound. Instead of comfort, this is certainly worth the coveted microphone statue … David Mouriquand

read our interview with JJ.

Ziferblat – Bird of Pray (Ukraine)

Ukraine has a real winning streak at the Eurovision Song Contest: a win for that Kalush Orchestra in 2022, a solid sixth place in 2023 and a third place last year. Even though some could quickly dismiss these results as “sympathetic voices” in view of the ongoing war after the Russian invasion, we are honest: the songs hit (political, emotional and tonal) like a bomb.

This year’s contribution is no exception. Ukraine returns to the competition with “Bird of Pray” by Ziferblat, a trio consisting of singer Daniil Leshchynskyi, guitarist Valentyn Leshchynskyi and drummer Fedir Hodakov. The song is an emotional reflection on the tribute of war and explores what it means to be separated from loved ones, to live in sadness and fear, and yet to try to hold onto hope. In this case, this hope is symbolized by a bird.

“It’s about the problems we’re going through, the tragedy of the past three years,” said singer Valentyn Leshchynskyi of the Eurovision fan page Wiwibloggs

Musically, the song is difficult to grasp. He begins with ethereal women’s singing before moving into group chants with hypnotic Ukrainian singing, which lay over an atmospheric prog rock ballad. Then the chorus begins, and suddenly it goes towards music theater – big strings, big emotions, almost like something from an anime soundtrack. “Fly. Bird. I beg you. Begging you, please just live “, begs the lead singer. For me it is a real highlight in a year in which there are too many squeaky clean, forgotten pop songs.

And in the past few days, the song’s message has become even more haunting. Khrystyna Starykova, a 19-year-old background singer from Ziferblat, said that her house in Myrnohrad was destroyed by Russian fire. She is currently rehearsing in Switzerland and posting photos of the rubble on the Internet. Theo Farrant