BASEL, Switzerland (AP) — Competition in the 69th Eurovision Song Contest kicks off Tuesday, with performers from 15 countries battling it out in Basel, Switzerland during the first of two semifinals of the pan-continental music extravaganza.
The lineup includes bookies’ favorite KAJ, a trio of Swedish-speaking Finns representing Sweden with “Bara Bada Bastu” – an upbeat ode to steam and heat whose title translates roughly as “just take a sauna” – and Dutch singer Claude, whose ballad “C’est La Vie” is another favorite with oddsmakers.
Claude hopes to win for his country after the Netherlands’ 2024 contestant, Joost Kein, was kicked out of Eurovision last year over a backstage altercation.
Other performers Tuesday include Icelandic brother duo VAEB with enthusiastic rowing song “Róa,” Slovenian singer Klemen’s soulful “How Much Time Do We Have Left,” Italian DJ Gabry Ponte, representing San Marino with the upbeat “Tutta L’Italia” and Estonia’s highly caffeinated entry, “Espresso Macchiatio” by Tommy Cash.
Tuesday’s showdown and a second semifinal on Thursday will narrow the field of 37 nations down to 26 who will compete in Saturday’s grand final. Twenty finalists will be decided by viewers’ votes, while six countries automatically qualify for the final: the host, Switzerland, and the “Big Five” who pay the most to the contest — France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the U.K.
Music fans across Europe and beyond have traveled to the northern Swiss city of Basel, which is hosting Eurovision because Swiss singer Nemo won last year’s contest in Sweden.
Eurovision was founded in 1956, partly to foster unity on a continent scarred by World War II, and its motto is “United by Music.” But political divisions often cloud the contest, despite organizers’ efforts to keep politics out. Officials say more than 1,000 police officers are on duty in Basel this week, and organizers are expecting protests against Israel’s participation because of the country’s conduct of its war against Hamas in Gaza.
Israel’s entry, singer Yuval Raphael, is a survivor of Hamas militants’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel that killed 1,200 people. More than 52,800 people in Gaza have been killed in Israel’s retaliatory offensive, according to the territory’s health ministry.
Following tensions over Israel’s participation and Klein’s expulsion last year, the European Broadcasting Union that organizes Eurovision has tightened the contest’s code of conduct, calling on participants to respect Eurovision’s values of “universality, diversity, equality and inclusivity” and its political neutrality.
Audience members will be allowed to wave Palestinian flags inside Basel’s St. Jakobshalle arena, after a contentious ban last year. Participants, however, can only wave their own national flag onstage or in other on-camera areas. Some delegations have protested that effectively bans LGBTQ+ pride flags from an event with a huge gay following.
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Lawless reported from London.
