Sweden remains favourite to take out the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest

It’s all about sex, baby, at the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest as Celine Dion firms to perform at the grand final.

There is no bigger endorsement than ABBA’s Björn Ulvaeus jumping on your Eurovision hype train.

The superstar, whose group became global superstars after winning the singing Olympics in 1974, posted a hilarious video from his lakeside home in support of overwhelming favourites Kaj and their song “Bara Bada Bastu” which celebrates the restorative power of a good sauna.

The Swedish entry for the 2025 contest in Basel, Switzerland has been the frontrunner since March with their jaunty pop song and staging with lumberjack dancers who rip off their gear and risk a wardrobe malfunction as they bounce around the stage in post-sauna towels.

Swedish sauna kings KAJ are the frontrunners to win 2025 Eurovision. Picture: Getty.

It’s peak Eurovision.

The wild costume factor isn’t as high in 2025 as recent competitions but it is the strongest field of contestants in terms of singing, song quality and dazzling visuals for many years.

Here’s your guide to what’s going on in the weird and wonderful ones to watch in 2025.

It’s all about sex, baby

Australia’s Go-Jo declared his pop banger “Milkshake Man” is a call to let your confidence flag fly but his invitation to “Come and take a sip from my special cup” opens a carefully-crafted collection of double entendres.

Less buried between the lines was this year’s most controversial song “Serving” from Malta’s Mariana Conte.

The throbbing club track was titled “Kant”, the Maltese word for singing but the BBC but a clutch of other broadcasters protested the word sounded too similar to a very naughty English word and might offend their family-friendly audiences.

Miriana Conte from Malta bounces to Eurovision controversy in Basel. Picture: AP.

Conte changed the title and chorus lyrics centred on “serving kant”, which is a well-known phrase in the queer ballroom and drag cultures.

One artist who managed to skirt the Eurovision “keep it nice” guidelines is Finland’s Erika Vikman whose song “Ich Komme” is hailed as a “joyous message of pleasure, ecstasy and a state of trance”.

It’s English translation is “I’m Coming” and her sexually-charged performance leaves little doubt about the pleasure message she is sending out from the Basel stage.

The EuroBey Babes

Vikman is one of the pop queens pulling from the Beyonce style book with her bedazzled bodysuit.

Spain’s Melody goes for the on-stage costume change to reveal a classic glittering leotard and thigh-high black boots.

But even Beyonce, who has set the bar for concert choreography, might find it tough to match the degree of difficulty of Melody’s aerial flip at the climax of her performance of her pop banger “Esa Diva.”

Spain’s Melody stuns with her poptastic performance of Esa Diva. Picture: AP.

Denmark’s Sissal sported a monochromatic blue bodysuit to match her lighting and staging design to sing her song “Hallucination.”

And Poland’s Justyna Steczkowska looked lithe in her all-leather catsuit for the powerful performance of “GAJA.”

Viva Italia

There were 20 European languages besides English represented on the Basel stage but one was more popular than most.

Italy’s multi-instrumentalist Lucio Corsi naturally adopts his mother tongue on “Volevo Essere Un Duro,” a brave and intriguing take on toxic masculinity.

Neighbouring San Marino’s Gabry Ponte serves up a techno track “Tutta l’Italia” – All of Italy – and celebrates spaghetti, wine and forbidden kisses in dark streets, according to the translated lyrics.

Charli XCX collaborator Tommy Cash is a fan favourite with his cheeky Espresso Macchiato. Picture: AP.

Fun fact about Ponte is he was a member of the 90s Eurohouse kings Eiffel 65 who gifted the world the enduring earworm “Blue (Da Ba Dee)”. The famous DJ performs behind the decks as two masked singers do the vocal heavy lifting.

The third “Italian” entry is the hilarious “Espresso Macchiato” by Estonian contestant Tommy Cash.

His cheeky tribute to caffeine allegedly got some Italians riled that he was sending them up but there’s nothing in the lyrics to justify the offence.

The Estonian rapper would be familiar to diehard Charli XCX fans as he was a feature on her 2017 single “Delicious.”

The Big Things

Only Eurovision can rival Australia’s reputation for celebrating over-sized props.

Go-Jo brought a Big Blender to Basel but missed the opportunity to add Big Pineapple and Big Banana into his drink mix.

Spare a thought for the crew who have to load the mammoth sets on and off stage in 42 seconds between each song.

Finnish singer Erika Vikman rides a giant microphone during her Ich Komme performance. Picture: AFP.

England’s harmonising Remember Monday trio posed around a fallen chandelier during their song “What The Hell Just Happened?” while KAJ performed in front of a Swedish sauna.

There’s also the ubiquitous disco balls, a giant microphone, a spaceship and France’s Louane messes up the stage with a storm of sand.

The Superstar Special Guest

ABBA broke everyone’s hearts last year in Malmo, Sweden when they phoned it in – with a video – to mark the 50th anniversary of Waterloo winning the contest in the UK.

Speculation has swirled among Eurovision fans that Canadian pop legend Celine Dion might head to Basel to celebrate Switzerland hosting the singing Olympics for the first time since she won in 1988.

Dion was 20 years old when she claimed the trophy in Dublin with a soaring performance of “Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi.”

Former Eurovision Song Contest winner Celine Dion, speak in a pre-recorded video message during the first semi-final. Picture: AP.

In a video message played during the first semi-final, Dion chose her words carefully and didn’t rule out making an appearance on stage in Switzerland.

“I would love nothing more than to be with you in Basel right now,” she said.

An appearance at Eurovision would be only her third public performance since making a slow return to stage after stepping back from performing in 2022 when she was diagnosed with the rare neurological condition Stiff Person Syndrome.

An orchestra was in secret rehearsals ahead of the grand final and Dion’s private jet was reported to have landed in Basel on Friday.

The 2025 Eurovision Song Contest grand final is broadcast from 5am (AEST) on Sunday, and replayed at 7.30pm, on SBS and SBS On Demand.

* Kathy McCabe travelled to Basel as a guest of SBS.

Originally published as Sweden remains favourite to take out the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest