Eurovision: Who’s already in for 2025?

I know … it’s technically ‘off season’ today, but let’s whet our (dog) whistles and start speculating about Eurovision 2025.

So far, an early and decidedly unofficial snapshot suggested that eight broadcasters had ticked the ‘yes’ box on the form asking if they fancied having a pop at winning a piece of fragile crystal glassware when the contest landed in Switzerland the following May. Expect that list to increase in leaps and bounds.

The 69th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest was to be organised by the EBU and Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG SSR). This would be the third time Switzerland hosted the contest, having previously done the honours in 1956 (the first ever Eurovision) and again in 1989 after Switzerland won in 1988 with Céline Dion bringing home the (Canadian) bacon.

Bidding was underway from potential host cities and venues, with Geneva (Palexpo), Basel and St Gallen (Olma Hall) among the first to throw their Tyrolese hats into the ring. There was every indication we’d know who would be potentially paying for enhanced security by late September.

So who’s in so far?

The EBU issues an invitation to participate in the contest to all active members. Countries that are part of the “Big Five” — France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom — and the host country Switzerland are automatically allocated a place in the final. All other participating countries normally compete in one of the two semi-finals.

As of 13 May 2024, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg, Norway, Malta, Spain and Switzerland had confirmed or publicly indicated that they expected to participate. This was an early snapshot rather than the EBU’s definitive list. Slovakia, meanwhile, had already ruled out Eurovision 2025: broadcaster RTVS cited budget constraints.

While the exact dates were not confirmed yet, the most likely dates were May 13-15-17, 2025 for the two semi-finals and grand final respectively. This avoided clashing with major events like the UEFA Champions League final on May 31.

That forecast turned out to be broadly right. The EBU later confirmed the semi-finals for Tuesday 13 May and Thursday 15 May, with the grand final on Saturday 17 May. The 2025 contest ultimately took place in Basel, at St. Jakobshalle, after Basel defeated Geneva in the host-city process. Zürich and Bern had also submitted bids, while St Gallen did not remain in the final competition.

And …

There’s no news yet about how or if the EBU will find a way to exclude any active members or if the Dutch AVROTROS will want ‘a word’. But the Netherlands did participate in 2025, despite the strained relationship with the EBU after Joost Klein’s disqualification from the 2024 final.

Andri Xhahu, Eurovision commentator and spokesperson for Albanian broadcaster RTSH, noted that preparations had already started for the next edition of Festivali i Këngës, the national song competition traditionally used to select the Albanian entry for the contest. That preparation was borne out: the 63rd festival took place in December 2024, with Shkodra Elektronike winning with “Zjerm” and going on to represent Albania.

Bosnian broadcaster BHRT outlined its plans for the year, including a statement that “it is high time to consider the possibility of returning […] to the Eurovision Song Contest in 2025”. But the broadcaster remained under EBU sanctions connected to unpaid debts, so Bosnia and Herzegovina did not return in 2025.

German broadcaster NDR had been considering handing responsibility to a different member of the ARD network in 2025, with MDR having signed contracts to take this on in January. This was an internal organisational possibility rather than a confirmed change, and Germany ultimately participated under ARD/NDR.

Rúnar Freyr Gíslason, director of Iceland’s traditional selection Söngvakeppnin, revealed plans to review the format of the selection show in 2025. This concerned the selection process rather than a decision to withdraw, and Iceland remained in the contest.

Michael Kealy, the head of the Irish delegation in the contest, expressed his hopes back in January that in 2025 RTÉ would be able to produce a national final format independent from The Late Late Show. That hope was subsequently realised, with RTÉ introducing Eurosong 2025 as a standalone televised selection.

Back in January, Montenegro’s national broadcaster RTCG published a report from a public debate stating that it “plans on organising a music festival to promote Montenegrin artists and authors, and which would (depending on the budget) be used as a way to select the representative for Eurovision 2025”. Montenegro later returned to the contest after a two-year absence.

Sammarinese broadcaster San Marino RTV renewed the contract for the organisation of Una voce per San Marino through to 2025. But a third successive failure to qualify resulted in calls from the secretary of state for tourism to withdraw. Those calls were political commentary, not an official withdrawal decision, and San Marino ultimately participated.

Mario Galunič at Slovenian broadcaster RTVSLO was pushing for a return to the national final EMA. That was a debate about the selection method, not about Slovenia’s participation; Slovenia ultimately joined the 2025 field.

Kosovo was not eligible to enter Eurovision 2025 because RTK did not have the EBU membership status required for participation. The Council of Europe Committee of Ministers also deferred, rather than approved, Kosovo’s membership question in May 2024, but that was a separate issue and not the sole or direct reason Kosovo could not enter Eurovision.

By December 2024, the EBU had confirmed 38 participating broadcasters: all 37 countries from Eurovision 2024, plus Montenegro returning after last competing in 2022. The 2025 contest duly took place in Basel on 13, 15 and 17 May — and our gloriously early speculation had, for once, landed somewhere near the truth.