Five Eurovision final talking points, including an inspired interval act collaboration
JJ from Austria reacts to voting during the Eurovision grand final. Picture: AP Photo/Martin Meissner
The Eurovision is going to Austria next year after Austrian-Filipino singer-songwriter JJ won during Saturday night’s grand final.
The 24-year-old singer performed the operatic ballad , which was staged on a storm-tossed ship. It is the second year in a row that a song with operatic influences has won the contest, with last year's winner Nemo’s claiming victory for Switzerland.
Austria has won Eurovision twice before, most recently in 2014 with Conchita Wurst's . JJ was among the favourites to win the contest, beating the hotly-tipped Sweden, which currently matches Ireland’s record for seven wins at the contest.
For now… This year’s Swedish act was a very strong threat and had they won, Sweden would be unmatched for contest wins. They last won in 2023, their seventh win and Loreen's second, while Ireland’s last (and seventh) win at Eurovision was 29 years ago with Eimear Quinn singing .
This year’s act from Sweden was KAJ, made up of Kevin Holmstrom, Axel Ahman and Jakob Norrgard, with the Swedish song , about Nordic sauna culture. They ranked fourth at this year’s contest, with Estonia’s in third, and Israel claiming second place with Yuval Raphael and .
Just 79 points separated Austria and Israel in the contest. During the run-up to Eurovision, host city Basel saw demonstrations against Israel’s participation in light of their continued attacks on Palestine.
These sentiments also spilled into the arena during the final, when Isreal’s entry was met with cheers and boos in the arena. Pro-Palestinian protesters also rushed towards a barrier when Raphael was on stage. Israeli broadcaster Kan said the protesters “were blocked by security officials, but Raphael was shaken and upset”.
A spokesman for Swiss broadcaster SRG SSR said: “At the end of the Israeli performance, a man and a woman tried to get over a barrier on to the stage.
“They were stopped. One of the two agitators threw paint and a crew member was hit.
“The crew member is fine and nobody was injured. The man and the woman were taken out of the venue and handed over to the police.”
Swiss police confirmed they have since been released.
There were several performances during the final while votes were being cast and counted. Last year's winner Nemo performed one of their new tracks, Unexplainable.
The highlight, however, was a 'battle' between two former contestants and fan favourites: Croatia's Baby Lasagna, who performed at last year’s competition in Sweden, and Kaarija who represented Finland in the Eurovision in 2023 with . Both acts came in second place during their respective contests and their #eurodab collaboration was deemed by many fans as the true winner of Eurovision 2025.
Rumours were circulating all weekend that despite her recorded message played during a semi-final stating she was unable to attend, Celine Dion would actually make a surprise appearance at the grand final. Dion won the contest for the country in 1988 with . Speculation mounted, with the singer allegedly jetting into Basel ahead of the show.
If she appeared on the Eurovision stage, it would have been her first public stage appearance in almost a year amid her ongoing battle with Stiff Person Syndrome. In 2022 she cancelled all remaining tour dates and revealed she had been diagnosed with the rare autoimmune neurological disorder.
She has since kept a low profile while undergoing treatment for the condition, which affects the brain and spinal cord and causes severe muscle stiffness and spasms.
Dion has struggled to sing since, but she gave a rare performance at the Paris Olympics last summer, sparking hope of a Eurovision return, but it was not to be.
