The Eurovision Song Contest burst into Basel on Sunday with a sun-drenched parade — mixed with protests over Israel’s participation — kicking off a week of revelry building up to the grand final.
The Swiss city is putting on the glitter as it hosts the 69th edition of the world’s biggest annual live televised music event, reaching around 160 million viewers.
While Europop beats, dramatic staging and earworm choruses dominate on stage, the geopolitical backdrop always looms large, with a demonstration taking place against Israel’s participation as it ramps up its war in Gaza.
As the parade began outside Basel’s iconic 500-year-old city hall, around a dozen Palestinian flags were being waved in the crowd, one affixed above a Pride flag, alongside a banner reading: “Israel: open Gaza’s borders. Let aid in”.
‘Heart of Europe’
Eurovision celebrates kitsch and plenty of dazzling outfits were on show as the 37 competing countries’ entrants took their place in the parade.
Switzerland hosted the inaugural Eurovision Song Contest in 1956, then staged it for a second time in 1989.
Basel is located right on the border with France and Germany.
“The moment we have eagerly awaited is finally here. The stage is ready. Excitement fills the air and the entire city is buzzing with a unique and vibrant energy,” said Conradin Cramer, president of the Basel City canton.
“The ESC is the most groundbreaking Swiss invention, after the pocket knife, the zipper and bircher muesli.”
“Basel, located in the heart of Europe, is the perfect place to unite people by music,” he said, before declaring Eurovision 2025 officially open.
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Parade and protests
Vintage trams and buses took the performers along the so-called “turquoise carpet” parade route — the longest in Eurovision history at 1.3 kilometres (0.8 miles).
Eurovision fans lined the route, joining in the party atmosphere in baking sunshine.
The parade was accompanied by drummers, carnival groups, marching bands, alphorn players and techno acts as they crossed the River Rhine over the Mittlere bridge, ending up at the “Eurovision Village” fan zone.
Israel’s entrant this year is Yuval Raphael. She survived the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that sparked the war in Gaza, hiding beneath dead bodies as Hamas gunmen attacked a music festival, killing hundreds.
The 24-year-old said she hopes her song “New Day Will Rise” will send a message of healing and solidarity.
As she came out of the city hall, Raphael waved and blew kisses to the crowd and posed for photographs, waving the Israeli flag.
Several Palestinian flags were also evident along the parade route. One flag-waving protester who got onto the route was tackled by police officers.
One person held up a sign reading: “No applause for genocide”. Another read: “Singing while Gaza burns”.
Switzerland is hosting after Swiss vocalist Nemo won Eurovision 2024 in Malmo with the highly personal song “The Code”, about discovering non-binary gender identity.
Nemo has joined calls for Israel to be thrown out of the show.
“I support the call for Israel’s exclusion from the Eurovision Song Contest,” the singer told the Huffington Post news website.
“Israel’s actions are fundamentally at odds with the values that Eurovision claims to uphold — peace, unity, and respect for human rights.”
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Sweden and Austria out front
The semi-finals on Tuesday and Thursday will see 11 countries bow out, leaving 26 nations to contest Saturday’s final at the St. Jakobshalle arena.
Sweden’s entry KAJ are the hot favourites to win, with a comical take on the joy of having a sauna, driven by accordion licks and a catchy chorus.
Austria’s JJ is the second-favourite with “Wasted Love”, a song in the mould of “The Code”, flipping between operatic vocals and modern beats.
France, then Israel, Belgium, the Netherlands and Finland round out the chasing pack, according to the bookmakers.
