Ireland and Australia impress ahead of UK and Israel performances - Austria, France, and Australia are also set to perform at this evening’s event

Eurovision band Ziferblat of Ukraine sings their national anthem with Ukrainian people during a family meeting in a park in Basel as part of the 69th Eurovision Song Contest week, in Basel, Switzerland, Thursday, May 15, 2025. Credit: AP/Martin Meissner BASEL, Switzerland — Ukraine’s musicians can’t escape war, even at the Eurovision Song Contest.

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The Eurovision Song Contest returned tonight for the first semi-final of the competition but things didn't seem to go to plan for host Switzerland's act Zoë Më in a performance

Finnish politicians have long used saunas, relaxed but exposing, as an ideal setting for hard talks, a practice known as “sauna diplomacy.” KAJ wear drab suits onstage in tribute to Urho Kekkonen, a long-serving Finnish president who famously deployed the technique in talks with Finland’s overbearing neighbor the Soviet Union.

The countdown is over, the Eurovision Song Contest is back for another and the eyes of the world will be on Basel as the famous events continues with the second semi final on Thursday night. And there are three people with a very important job to do as the show's hosts.

Eurovision winner Nemo on ‘insanity of having glittery party’ amid world events - The Swiss non-binary singer, 25, triumphed in Malmo, Sweden, and will return to the Eurovision stage in Switzerland.

Competition in the Eurovision Song Contest has kicked off with the first of two semifinals. Ten acts from among 15 countries that performed were voted through by voters to the final of the pan-continental music extravaganza.