JJ of Austria has been crowned the winner of the 69th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, held in Basel, Switzerland’s St. Jakobshalle arena.
Tearing up upon the acceptance of the distinction, JJ clinched the coveted spot with his haunting, falsetto-infused rendition of “Wasted Love,” which he reprised upon his win. The singer exclaimed in surprise as confetti rained down amid his second performance, which also featured a techno remix of the sweeping ballad.
Throughout national jury voting (which makes up 50% of the vote), Switzerland and Austria flip-flopped for the lead, with the latter taking over at its conclusion. Predicted favorites for the win included Sweden, Finland and France. Unexpectedly, however, Israel shot up to the lead with a whopping 297 viewer votes, putting it in a last-minute tight race with Austria (which won by 79 points), especially as Switzerland received a surprising zero points.
The extravagant international songwriting competition has millions of devoted fans worldwide, with viewers allowed to vote for their favorites in the bid for the top contender (to be verified by officials backstage). Each of this year’s 37 contestants — representing an equal number of countries — do their best to bring a show-stopping performance to the stage, complete with enthusiastic background dancers, intricate set pieces and elaborate light sequences. Peacock has been streaming the show live for American audiences since 2021.
May 13 kicked off the semi-finals — culminating in tonight’s grand finals — with a prerecorded message from 1988 Switzerland winner Céline Dion, celebrating the “beautiful” return of the contest to its home nation. There were questions surrounding whether the renowned artist would return to the contest that first catapulted her to stardom, when she won with “Ne partez pas sans moi.” (In 2022, the Canadian songstress revealed she was diagnosed with the rare autoimmune neurological disorder called stiff person syndrome; she has previously stated that she hopes to return to performing at some point.)
Eurovision traces its history back to 1956 and Swiss television executive Marcel Bezençon, with the inaugural winner representing Switzerland. In 2025, the Eurovision Song Contest returned to where it all began 69 years ago. (Liverpool and Malmö were the two most recent cities to host.)
“They’ve closed streets. They’ve got a brilliant [Eurovison] village. I think there’s going to be a real party atmosphere – they’ve really lent into Switzerland being where the first Eurovision Song Contest was staged. So, it’s come home,” director Martin Green told Deadline of the preparations in a recent interview.
“United by music” is the Eurovision motto, though this year, Irish pubcaster RTÉ has called for a discussion on Israel’s participation while over 70 previous Eurovision performers signed an open letter urging organizers to ban Israel.
Green told Deadline of the decision to keep Israel as a contestant, despite the ongoing atrocities and mass killings in Gaza, “If we see people gathered on stage through song, perhaps it is a reminder that it is possible to get along. That may be a romantic vision, but it’s one I believe. I’ve worked on Olympics and major sporting events, and I do believe that there needs to be that space to show that another way is possible.”
