Austria sweeps to Eurovision victory after nail-biting finish
Austria has won the 69th annual Eurovision Song Contest, after an almost four-hour long telecast featuring fireworks and songs in 20 different languages, and a brutal semi-final in which Australia was eliminated.
In an extraordinary photo-finish, Israel dominated the leaderboard by a margin of 99 points. In a final twist, the last block of global TV audience votes handed JJ (aka Jacob Pietsch)’s song Wasted Love an additional 178 points, and confirmation of the win.
2025 Eurovision winner Johannes Pietsch, who performs using the stage name JJ, on stage in Basel, Switzerland.Credit: Cain Cooper
The final score placed Austria at the top of the leaderboard with 436 points, followed by Israel (357), Estonia (356), Sweden (321), Italy (256), Greece (231), France (230), Albania (218), Ukraine (218) and Switzerland (214). The biggest shock was Sweden’s fall to fourth place, after weeks of predictions that it would win.
Australia’s tenth journey to Eurovision ended earlier this week, when singer Marty Zambotto, known by the stage name Go-Jo, was ousted from the competition in a shock finish to a hotly contested and densely packed second semi-final.
Zambotto delivered a winning performance but found himself in a perfect storm of strategic challenges: a second semi-final heavily loaded with too many strong performances and 16 competing countries, requiring that almost a third of the countries in that semi-final be eliminated.
Despite the loss, Zambotto was upbeat. “We put so much work and effort in, I know I could not have worked harder,” he said. The 29-year-old West Australian-born singer remained a favourite with fans, performing to a packed Euroclub the night after his elimination.
Lucio Corsi (left) from Italy performs Volevo Essere Un Duro in the Eurovision 2025 final.Credit: Sarah Louise Bennett
The iconic singer, and former Eurovision winner, Celine Dion also appeared in a pre-taped segment earlier this week, describing Eurovision as “a life-changing moment for me, and I am so thankful for everyone who supported me. [Switzerland] is a country that believed in me and gave me a chance to be a part of something extraordinary.”
The competition semi-final heats and grand final have been staged in Basel’s St Jakobshalle arena. As late as the live final telecast, rumours persisted that Dion would appear in the adjacent St Jakob-Park football stadium, but the rumoured surprise appearance did not eventuate.
In the run-up to the final, the week was not without its dramatic moments. At several points in the semi-finals and final, protesters attempted to interrupt performances by Israel’s entrant Yuval Raphael, either by unfurling Palestinian flags or blowing whistles.
Officials estimate the event has drawn more than 470,000 people to the town of Basel, Switzerland – almost three times the city’s population – including those who attended the concerts, the Eurovision Village and Euroclub, and the city’s Eurovision Square.
Conradin Cramer, the president of the Basel-Stadt canton – the equivalent of the city mayor – said the city was very happy with the attention Eurovision had delivered. “Wherever I am and wherever I look, the enthusiasm is huge,” he said. “People from all different places are enjoying being in Basel.”
Australia’s defeat in the second semi-final will doubtless be an inflection point for the broadcaster SBS. The participation fee is set by the European Broadcasting Union, guided by the “solidarity principle that the strongest shoulders carry the most weight,” the organisation says.
Last year, for example, Germany’s fee was reported to be about €473,000 ($822,000) and Spain’s approximately €347,000. Smaller countries, such as Romania (€180,000) and Ireland (€105,000) pay less. Australia’s fee has never been disclosed but would likely be in the lower range, in line with countries with smaller populations.
Celine Dion appears in a pre-taped segment in the Eurovision 2025 final.Credit: Alma Bengtsson
The overall cost to SBS for Eurovision is likely to be relatively modest in TV terms, particularly when compared to bigger-ticket program acquisitions, such as the $30 million soccer World Cup.
There is also an intellectual and cultural case to be prosecuted: that despite the distance, the event has great value as a tool of soft diplomacy, and that it exposes Australia’s competing artists to an estimated global TV audience of 160 million viewers.
A total of 26 countries competed in the final: Norway, Albania, Sweden, Iceland, Netherlands, Poland, San Marino, Estonia, Portugal, Ukraine, Lithuania, Israel, Armenia, Denmark, Austria, Luxembourg, Finland, Latvia, Malta and Greece, plus the so-called “Big Five” – France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK – and the hosting country, Switzerland.
Among the highlights of the final were Sweden’s Kaj, performing the playful homage to Sweden’s “sauna culture” Bara Bada Bastu, France’s Louane, performing the deeply heartfelt Maman, Finland’s Erika Vikman, singing the vibrant dance anthem Ich Komme, and Claude, from the Netherlands, singing C’est La Vie, a song about a refugee’s journey.
Go-Jo performing Milkshake Man for Australia at the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest.Credit: Alma Bengtsson
The final Eurovision score is calculated using a double metric: scores from a five-member professional jury in each competing country and audience “tele-voting” from competing countries and a “rest of the world” group. During the live telecast scores of 1 through 8, 10 and 12 points are assigned to any country except their own.
Despite the arcane scoring system, the voting is one of the most popular parts of the telecast, creating the phrases douze points and nul points – pronounced “dooze pwa” and “nul pwa” – or 12 points and no points, the best and worst scores possible.
The Eurovision Song Contest final will be repeated tonight on SBS at 7.30pm, with commentary by Tony Armstrong and Courtney Act. The two semi-finals and final will stream on SBS On Demand.
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