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Tahar Rajab is a Newsweek News and Features Journalist based in London, UK. His focus is audience engagement, traffic growth and analytics. He has covered a wide range of topics from world news to sport and politics and has a particular love for lifestyle content. He joined Newsweek in 2024 from The Times and had previously worked for the MailOnline and Evening Standard. Tahar has also worked as a reporter for national Kenyan publication the Star, in Nairobi, where he investigated allegations of corruption within the Kenyan Football Association and interviewed leading cultural figures. He is a graduate of Queen Mary College, University of London. You can get in touch with Tahar by emailing t.rajab@newsweek.com. Languages: English and Swahili.
Tahar Rajab
News and Features Journalist
🎙️ Voice is AI-generated. Inconsistencies may occur.
The Eurovision Song Contest 2025 will culminate with its Grand Final on Saturday, bringing together 37 countries for an evening of high-energy performances, glitzy staging and international pop flair.
This year’s edition features the United Kingdom’s entry, Remember Monday, a country-pop trio aiming to turn around the U.K.’s recent poor showings with their track “What The Hell Just Happened.” The group, composed of Lauren Byrne, Holly-Anne Hull and Charlotte Steele, previously appeared on The Voice and have backgrounds in West End productions including Phantom of the Opera and Six: The Musical.
Finalists were determined this week during two semifinals. Automatic entries include the so-called “Big Five” nations—France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the U.K.—as well as the defending champion’s country.
Martin Meissner/AP Photo
What Time Is The Eurovision 2025 Grand Final?
The Grand Final will begin at 3 p.m. ET and noon PT on Saturday in the United States.
The Contestants and the Songs
From the first semifinal, these countries qualified:
- Albania: Shkodra Elektronike – Zjerm
- Sweden: KAJ – Bara Bada Bastu
- Ukraine: Ziferblat – Bird of Pray
- Portugal: NAPA – Deslocado
Second semifinal qualifiers:
- Greece: Klavdia – Asteromáta
- Israel: Yuval Raphael – New Day Will Rise
- Finland: Erika Vikman – ICH KOMME
- Austria: JJ – Wasted Love
Six countries—the Big Five and host nation Switzerland—qualified automatically for the Grand Final.
The Big Five:
- France: Louane – Maman
- Germany: Abor & Tynna – Baller
- Italy: Lucio Corsi – Volevo essere un duro
- Spain: Melody – Esa diva
- United Kingdom: Remember Monday – What the Hell Just Happened?
Switzerland’s Zoë Më will perform “Voyage” in the Grand Final as the host country’s 2025 entry, while 2024 winner Nemo, who triumphed with “The Code,” is scheduled to return as a guest performer.
Martin Meissner/AP Photo
Where Is This Year’s Eurovision Song Contest?
The contest is in Basel, Switzerland at the St. Jakobshalle arena. It marks the third time the country has hosted Eurovision and aligns with this year’s theme, “Welcome Home,” commemorating the first-ever contest held in Switzerland in 1956.
How To Watch Eurovision Song Contest
In the United States, viewers can stream the Grand Final live on Peacock. The show is also available on the Eurovision Song Contest’s official YouTube channel, depending on regional access.
Controversies And Politics
More than 70 past contestants, including the U.K.’s Mae Muller, have signed an open letter calling for Israel’s exclusion from the contest. They argue the Israeli broadcaster KAN is complicit in war crimes amid Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. The European Broadcasting Union has maintained that Eurovision is a non-political event and declined to ban the country.
Yuval Raphael, Israel’s contestant, who survived the Nova music festival massacre in 2023, told the BBC she was “expecting to be booed” during her performance amid the Gaza conflict.
Can I Vote From The U.S.?
Eurovision voting combines jury scores with public votes. Each participating country awards two sets of scores—one from a panel of music experts and another from fans, who vote by phone, SMS or the Eurovision app. Viewers cannot vote for their own country, and a special “rest of the world” vote is included for non-participating nations like the U.S.
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About the writer
Tahar Rajab is a Newsweek News and Features Journalist based in London, UK. His focus is audience engagement, traffic growth and analytics. He has covered a wide range of topics from world news to sport and politics and has a particular love for lifestyle content. He joined Newsweek in 2024 from The Times and had previously worked for the MailOnline and Evening Standard. Tahar has also worked as a reporter for national Kenyan publication the Star, in Nairobi, where he investigated allegations of corruption within the Kenyan Football Association and interviewed leading cultural figures. He is a graduate of Queen Mary College, University of London. You can get in touch with Tahar by emailing t.rajab@newsweek.com. Languages: English and Swahili.
Tahar Rajab
Tahar Rajab is a Newsweek News and Features Journalist based in London, UK. His focus is audience engagement, traffic growth …
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English