The first of two Eurovision semi-finals saw sauna-loving trio KAJ and Dutch balladeer Claude among the ten acts voted through to the grand final, while five countries were sent home.
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The 69th Eurovision Song Contest kicked off on Tuesday night in Switzerland (the country that hosted the first ever contest back in 1956!), with the hot favourites and sauna-obsessed Swedish entry KAJ among the opening acts.
In the first of two semi-finals, 15 countries vied for a spot in Saturday’s grand final. Ten advanced. Five went home.
Joining the Swedish trio in the final is another standout act: 21-year-old Dutch singer Claude, who earned a spot with 'C’est La Vie', a moody, French café-style ballad which erupts into a thumping Caribbean zouk dance track. Alongside KAJ, it's one of our favourites to win here at Euronews Culture.
The artist hopes to deliver a strong result for his country after the Netherlands’ 2024 contestant, Joost Klein, was kicked out of Eurovision last year over a backstage altercation.
Other acts moving on include Icelandic brother-rap duo VAEB with their rowing anthem 'Róa'; Norway’s Kyle Alessandro with the emotional 'Lighter'; and not one but two hyper-Italian tracks from countries that aren’t Italy - San Marino’s DJ Gabry Ponte with 'Tutta L’Italia' and Estonia’s Tommy Cash with the caffeine-fueled 'Espresso Macchiato'.
Ukraine, Portugal, Poland, and Albania also clinched spots in the final. Meanwhile, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, and Slovenia failed to make the cut.
Tuesday’s showdown and a second semi-final 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 UK.