The line-up for the Semi-Finals of this year’s Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) has been decided by a draw at the official handover ceremony at the Kunstmuseum in this year’s Host City, Basel.

31 of the 37 participating broadcasters were allocated to perform in either the First Semi-Final or Second Semi-Final  (15 in the First Semi-Final, 16 in the Second Semi-Final). They had been divided into 5 pots, based on historical voting patterns as calculated by the Contest's official voting partner Once.*

The result of the Semi-Final Draw (in order they were drawn) was as follows:

FIRST SEMI-FINAL (TO BE BROADCAST ON 13 MAY)

First half: 
Sweden (SVT) 
Ukraine (Suspilne)
Slovenia (RTVSLO)
Iceland (RUV)
Estonia (ERR) 
Poland (TVP)
Portugal (RTP)

Second half:
Netherlands (AVROTROS)
Azerbaijan (Ictimai)
Albania (RTSH) 
San Marino (RTV) 
Belgium (VRT)
Cyprus (CyBC) 
Croatia (HRT)
Norway (NRK) 

SECOND SEMI-FINAL (TO BE BROADCAST ON 15 MAY)

First half:  
Austria (ORF) 
Lithuania (LRT)
Armenia (AMPTV)
Montenegro (RTCG)
Greece (ERT)
Ireland (RTE)
Australia (SBS) 
Latvia (LTV) 

Second half:
Czechia (CT) 
Israel (KAN) 
Malta (PBS) 
Finland (YLE)
Denmark (DR) 
Luxembourg (RTL)
Georgia (GPB) 
Serbia (RTS)

After all the competing songs are submitted in mid-March, show producers will decide on the precise running order for the two Semi-Finals.

Following a public vote, the Top 10 countries from each Semi-Final will progress to join 6 pre-qualified countries in the Grand Final on Saturday 17 May.

France (FTV), Germany (ARD), Spain (RTVE), Italy (Rai), the United Kingdom (BBC) (the ‘Big Five') and last year’s winner Switzerland (SRG SSR), automatically qualify for the Grand Final, however they are each required to broadcast and vote in one of the Semi-Finals. 

A draw was also held to decide the 3 countries who will vote in the First Semi-Final (Italy, Spain, Switzerland) and the 3 who will vote in the Second Semi-Final (Germany, France, United Kingdom).

“COURAGEOUS CREATIVITY”

The draws were overseen by the Eurovision Song Contest’s Executive Supervisor Martin Österdahl. 

“We’re excited to begin another exhilarating chapter for the Eurovision Song Contest here in Basel,” said Martin Osterdahl, Executive Supervisor of the Eurovision Song Contest.

“Following the outstanding shows in Malmö last year, Basel is ready to take the torch and deliver an extraordinary Contest. The ESC returns in 2025 with 37 broadcasters participating and a growing global audience. We can't wait to showcase in May the very best of diverse international music and courageous creativity, with a Swiss touch, to the hundreds of millions watching around the world."

Reto Peritz and Moritz Stadler, SRG SSR’s Co-Executive Producers for ESC 2025 said: "The ESC has officially returned to its birthplace. With the handover from Malmö to Basel and the Semi-Final Draw completed, we have reached another key milestone and look forward to welcoming guests from around the world to Basel soon."

FRIENDSHIP GIFT

As part of the handover, the Chairman of the Municipal Council of Malmö, Carina Nilsson gave a specially created robe as a “friendship gift” to Conradin Cramer, president of the Basel Cantonal Council. 

The brightly coloured robe was originally created by Malmö designer Pampas and inspired by the outfit worn by Eurovision winner Nemo at the Opening Ceremony in 2024. It has since been adapted and adorned with original Eurovision advertising banners from Malmö. 

“The coat bears the words 'creativity', 'democracy' and 're:used citydress', symbolizing important values and sustainability initiatives that we embraced in Malmö and throughout Sweden during the Eurovision Song Contest in 2024," explained Karin Karlsson, managing director of last year's event in Malmö. “At the same time, the coat underscores the connection between the two host cities,” she added. 

This symbolic gesture marks the official handover of the honour and responsibility for hosting the Eurovision Song Contest from the last Host City, Malmö, to Basel.

Basel Cantonal Council President Conradin Cramer said: "Basel accepts this gift and the associated task with great enthusiasm and commitment and looks forward to making the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 an unforgettable experience.”

The new “friendship gift” has replaced the Insignias passed between each Host City between 2007 and 2024 and will remain in Basel after this year’s event. 

Basel is hosting the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time following Switzerland’s 3rd win with Nemo’s “The Code” last May. 

The Semi Final Draw was held at the Basel Kunstmuseum, organized by 2025 host broadcaster SRG SSR and the City of Basel, and presented by Basel natives Jennifer Bosshard, a presenter on Swiss German channel SRF, and Jan van Ditzhuijzen.

Jan is a former student at the University of Applied Sciences in Switzerland’s biggest canton Graubünden. 

The concept and broadcast of the handover ceremony and Draw were created, designed and managed by 14 students from the same university, with the support of experts from SRG SSR in a first for the Eurovision Song Contest. 

The students will also produce coverage of the official Opening Ceremony and Turquoise Carpet event on 11 May as part of SRG SSR’s extensive Public Value Programme running alongside this year's Eurovision Song Contest. 

Find out more about the Programme here.

The 69th Eurovision Song Contest will take place on 13, 15 and 17 May at Basel’s St JakobsHalle. For more information, visit Eurovision.tv 

The Semi-Final Draw was broadcast live by SRG SSR, 5 participating broadcasters and on the official Eurovision Song Contest YouTube channel.  

For further information visit Eurovision.tv and the official social media channels Instagram: @eurovision, Facebook: @EurovisionSongContest, TikTok @Eurovision and Threads @eurovision

 

*Since 2004 Once, formally known as digame, has been the official voting partner of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and responsible for the centralized televoting via telephone, SMS, and online.. Drawing from different pots is a method practiced by the Eurovision Song Contest.