The journey to the Grand Final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 is officially underway, as the first ten acts have secured their places following a dramatic live broadcast from the St. Jakobshalle in Basel, Switzerland.
The First Semi-Final, hosted by Swiss presenters Hazel Brugger and Sandra Studer, saw 15 countries compete for just 10 spots in Saturday night’s highly anticipated Grand Final. The qualifiers were determined entirely by public vote, with viewers tuning in from across Europe – and beyond – to have their say.
Meet the First 10 Qualifiers (in order of announcement):
• 🇳🇴 Norway | Kyle Alessandro – Lighter
• 🇦🇱 Albania | Shkodra Elektronike – Zjerm
• 🇸🇪 Sweden | KAJ – Bara Bada Bastu
• 🇮🇸 Iceland | VÆB – RÓA
• 🇳🇱 Netherlands | Claude – C’est La Vie
• 🇵🇱 Poland | Justyna Steczkowska – GAJA
• 🇸🇲 San Marino | Gabry Ponte – Tutta L’Italia
• 🇪🇪 Estonia | Tommy Cash – Espresso Macchiato
• 🇵🇹 Portugal | NAPA – Deslocado
• 🇺🇦 Ukraine | Ziferblat – Bird of Pray
Each act now advances to the Grand Final, which takes place this Saturday, 17 May. They will be joined by the next set of qualifiers from Thursday’s Second Semi-Final, the automatic qualifiers – France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom – and host country Switzerland, this year’s reigning champion.
Following the show, each successful act participated in the Grand Final draw, deciding whether they would perform in the first half, second half, or leave their fate in the hands of the show’s producers.
And here are the results of the running order draw for the Grand Final:
Heartbreak in Basel
While ten celebrated, five countries saw their 2025 Eurovision journeys come to an end:
• 🇸🇮 Slovenia | Klemen – How Much Time Do We Have Left
• 🇧🇪 Belgium | Red Sebastian – Strobe Lights
• 🇦🇿 Azerbaijan | Mamagama – Run With U
• 🇭🇷 Croatia | Marko Bošnjak – Poison Cake
• 🇨🇾 Cyprus | Theo Evan – Shh
Despite missing out on qualification, each performance was met with loud applause and appreciation from the packed Basel arena and fans online, many of whom expressed support for their favourites on social media.
How the Voting Worked
Tonight’s result was decided exclusively by televote. Viewers from the 15 participating countries were joined by Switzerland, Italy, and Spain, who also had voting rights in this Semi-Final. The jury vote will return for the Grand Final, where it will be combined with the public vote to crown this year’s winner.
The First Semi-Final marked the start of a week that will culminate in the crowning of the 69th Eurovision champion. With ten more slots still to be filled, attention now turns to the Second Semi-Final on Thursday 15 May.
For those who missed the action, the full show is available to watch on Eurovision’s official YouTube channel
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