It’s hard to believe that a year ago we were counting down the weeks until we’d be watching the Eurovision finale live in the Malmö Arena in beautiful Sweden. It was a truly memorable experience, despite the tensions and behind-the-scenes drama, and I wish I could attend this year’s finale in Switzerland. Basel was selected as the host city following Nemo’s victory with The Code in 2024. This will be Switzerland’s third time hosting the contest after the first contest was hosted in Lugano in 1956 and only once since then in Lausanne in 1989 following Céline Dion’s victory with Ne partez pas sans moi in 1988.
Hazel Brugger, Sandra Studer and Michelle Hunziker will present the Grand Final and, according to Swiss broadcaster SRG SSR, the trio “symbolises the values that define Switzerland: openness, diversity, multilingualism and a sense of togetherness” while simultaneously celebrating Europe’s diversity (well, Europe and Australia for reasons no one quite understands). In terms of the brand identity of this year’s contest, Art Director Artur Deyneuve was inspired by the tradition of Swiss democracy based on listening and dialogue, resulting in the overarching theme of “Unity Shapes Love”.
37 countries will be participating in this year’s contest, with participants performing their hearts out to earn a coveted spot in the final. However, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom are pre-qualified for the Grand Final. With just a week to go until that dazzling final show, here are my top 10 songs for Eurovision 2025:
10 | Laika Party - Emmy (Ireland 🇮🇪)
This year Ireland will be represented by a 24-year-old singer-songwriter from Norway. The dance-pop tune is a tribute to Laika, the Soviet dog who was the first living being to orbit the Earth in 1957 and reimagines the dog’s sad fate as a never-ending space party.
9 | Milkshake Man - Go-Jo (Australia 🇦🇺)
Described as a “social media powerhouse” with millions of followers across TikTok, YouTube and Instagram, Marty Zambotto will be representing Australia in Basel. The catchy song and its double entendres (my favorite) soon grew on me and while it might not be a competition winner, it's a joyful and playful song, driven by a captivating beat.
8 | Baller - Abor & Tynna (Germany 🇩🇪)
This modern pop song was the lead single from the duo’s debut studio album, Bittersüß, and marks the first time Germany has presented a Eurovision song with exclusively German lyrics since 2007.
7 | Shh - Theo Evan (Cyprus 🇨🇾)
This Eurodance tune has a seriously memorable hook with just a touch of Faithless. According to the official Eurovision site, Theo released his first single The Wall in 2021, “building up a strong catalogue of singles since then; inspired by everything from Stromae to Michael Jackson to reggaeton”.
6 | RÓA - VÆB (Iceland 🇮🇸)
5 | C'est La Vie - Claude (The Netherlands 🇳🇱)
With over a hundred million streams and countless sold-out shows, the young Dutch singer-songwriter brings a wealth of experience to the Eurovision stage. The song (translated: That’s life) is a pop-dance track with an uplifting message of finding the positive in life’s setbacks.
4 | Espresso Macchiato - Tommy Cash (Estonia 🇪🇪)
I am not a coffee drinker - at all - but I am slightly obsessed with this catchy caffeinated track with its humorous lyrics, including my personal favorite: “Life may give you lemons when dancing with the demons / No stresso, no stresso, no need to be depresso”.
3 | Lighter - Kyle Alessandro (Norway 🇳🇴)
A song about holding onto hope in dark times - sounds like something we could all use right now. His overall sound is a fusion of various musical genres and cultures, ranging from South America and Japan to Norwegian folk music. Plus, he's also a cutie.
2 | Serving (aka Kant) - Miriana Conte (Malta 🇲🇹)
It’s a travesty that Miriana Conte was told to change title and lyrics of her winning entry because of a suggestive play on Maltese word for 'singing' (kant). Conte complied with the request, renaming her entry to Serving. The song is still a real earworm (and let’s be honest, fans are going to continue singing the original lyric!).
1 | Bara Bada Bastu - KAJ (Sweden 🇸🇪)
Sweden produces winning material year after year (the country has won Eurovision 7 times, and it tied with Ireland for the most number of wins) and this year is no exception. The track (translated: Let’s just sauna) has an infectious melody and is a tribute to the Finnish sauna, with lyrics in the Vörå dialect of Finland Swedish.
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