Basilea, Switzerland – There has already been triumph and tears, singing on stage and in the streets, and a touch of political division, such as the 69th Eurovision song contest He approaches his grand final in the Swiss city of Basel.
The musical acts from 26 countries will take the stage at St. Jakobshalle Arena on Saturday in a spectacular sequin competition that has been joining and dividing Europeans since 1956.
Here is everything to know:
Eurovision is a competition in which the artists of the countries throughout Europe, and some beyond, compete under their national flags with the aim of being crowned continental champion. Think about it as the Olympic Pop Music Games or the World Cup with song instead of football.
It is a celebration of the power of silly fun and music, but also a place where regional policy and rivalries develop.
“It is the largest cultural event in Europe,” said Dean Vulletic, an expert in Eurovision history. “It has been happening for almost 70 years and people love to see it, not only for the show, for the brightness, the effects of the stage, crazy costumes, but also because they like to see it as a reflection of the spirit of Europe.”
From 37 countries that sent artists to Eurovision, 11 were knocked out by public vote in Semifinals on Tuesday and Thursday. Six others were automatically classified for the final: the host, Switzerland and the “Five Big” who pay the contest most: France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom
The 26 countries that compete on Saturday, in order of performance, are: Norway, Luxembourg, Estonia, Israel, Lithuania, Spain, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, Austria, Iceland, Latvia, Netherlands, Finland, Italy, Germany, Grece, Armenia, Switzerland, Malta, Portugal, Denmark, Sweden, France, France.
Favorites, according to probabilities, are ANDRepresenting Sweden with “Bara Bada Bastu”, a cheerful serenade in the sauna. The Dutch singer Claude is also highly qualified with a moving ballad “C’est la Vie”. Other favorites include the Austrian hiring of classical training JJ with his pop -ópera song “Wasted Love”, and Yuval Raphael de IsraelWith his anthem “the new day will rise.”
Eurovision has a Europop Campy reputation with meaningless letters: the previous winners include “La, la” and “Boom Bang-a-Bang”. But it has also produced some lasting pop classics. And he helped make artists stars, such as Abba, winners in 1974 with “Waterloo”, Celine Dion, artist of Austrian drag Conchita Wurst and Italian rock band Moonlight.
This year’s finalists range from Emo Lithuanian Katarsis to a ballad of power of the Spanish diva and the melody and Ukrainian Rockers of Prog Ziferblat.
Campanine, humor and double understood abound. “Espresso Macchiato” is a comic ode of Italian stereotypes made by Tommy Cash in Estonia. Miriana Conte sings for Malta with the “service” full of understanding, made in a set that includes a giant shine ball and lips, is the classical Eurovision.
Once it was widely accepted that the most successful Eurovision songs were in English, but that is changing. This year’s contest presents songs in a 20 -languages record, including Ukrainians, Icelanders, Letters, Maltese and Armenians.
Vulhetical said the spectators these days want “more authenticity in Eurovision entrances.
“Not only do they want a standard pop song sung in English,” he said. “They also want to see something about the culture of the country that represents the song.”
Once all acts have acted in the final, the winner is chosen by a famous complex mixture of telephone and online voters from all over the world and classifications by jurors of the music industry in each of the Eurovision countries. As the results are announced, countries slide up and down of classifications and tensions.
Finish with “nul points” or zero, is considered a national humiliation.
The last one begins on Saturday at 1900 GMT (3 PM EDT) and will be transmitted by national stations in the participating nations, in the Peacock Transmission Service in the United States and in many countries in the Eurovision YouTube channel.
During and immediately after the final, viewers from participating countries can vote by telephone, text message or the Eurovision application, but not for their own country. Spectators in the United States and other non -participating countries can vote all day on Saturday, online in www.esc.vote or with the application. The combined vote of the “rest of the world” has the weight of an individual country.
The slogan of the contest is “united by music”, but the divisions of the world inevitably are interfered.
Russia was expelled from Eurovision after its large -scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and since then, Ukrainian musicians, including the winner of 2022 Kalush Orchestra, have competed in the shadow of the war in the country of origin.
This year’s contest has been dragged per second year by disputes on Israel’s participation. Dozens of former participants, including Nemo, They have asked Israel to be excluded on their behavior in the War against Hamas in Gaza. Pro-Palestinian and Pro-Israel protests have taken place in Basel, although on a much smaller scale than last year’s event in Sweden.
A handful of protesters tried to interrupt an essay by Israeli Raphael singer on Thursday with large flags and whistles and were escorted from the sand. The organizers say they have tightened security before the final.
