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Eurovision Song Contest welcomes back Montenegro and confirms participants of 2025

12 December 2024
Eurovision Song Contest welcomes back Montenegro and confirms participants of 2025

  • Montenegro's RTCG returns to the competition after a 2 year absence, increasing the participant count to 38 – 13th appearance in competition
  • All of 37 of 2024’s participants return in 2025
  • Highest number of participants since 2022
  • Semi-Finals set for 13 and 15 May, with the Grand Final on 17 May 2025

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) is excited to announce, following a record-breaking event in 2024, an increased line-up of 38 public service broadcasters will take part in the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) next May.

RTCG of Montenegro return to the competition after last competing in 2022, increasing the number of participants to 38 public broadcasters for the 69th Contest.

This gives Basel 2025 the largest number of competing countries since Turin in 2022 and follows the 2024 Contest in Malmö which saw the highest audience share in 18 years, increased viewing figures across the continent, and a record year for the ESC’s digital platforms.

The world’s biggest live music event will be co-ordinated by the EBU and hosted by its Swiss member SRG SSR in Basel at the St. Jakobshalle on 13, 15, and 17 May 2025.

Martin Green, the EBU’s Eurovision Song Contest Director, said: “After the huge success of the 2024 Contest in Malmö, we are thrilled to see an increased line-up of participating countries for 2025. The Eurovision Song Contest continues to be the biggest and most exciting live event in the world and we’re delighted to have the support and commitment from 38 participating broadcasters for next year in Basel.

“Planning for the 69th Eurovision Song Contest is well underway with our colleagues at SGR SSR, and we believe both our members and fans around the world can look forward to three wonderful shows next May.”

Bakel Walden, Chair of the Eurovision Song Contest Reference Group, added: “The Eurovision Song Contest is unrivalled as the world’s largest live music event, is a testament to the power of public service media across all platforms, and continues to grow at unprecedented levels. We are delighted to be bringing three phenomenal live shows to even more markets in 2025 and continuing to capture the imaginations of people across generations, countries and cultures.”

The participating broadcasters, representing their countries, in the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest are:

RTSH (Albania), AMPTV (Armenia), SBS (Australia), ORF (Austria), İctimai (Azerbaijan), VRT (Belgium), HRT (Croatia), CyBC (Cyprus), ČT (Czechia), DR (Denmark), ERR (Estonia), YLE (Finland), FT (France), GPB (Georgia), ARD/NDR (Germany), ERT (Greece), RÚV (Iceland), RTÉ (Ireland), Kan (Israel), RAI (Italy), LTV (Latvia), LRT (Lithuania) RTL (Luxembourg), PBS (Malta), TRM (Moldova), RTCG (Montenegro), AVROTROS (Netherlands), NRK (Norway), TVP (Poland), RTP (Portugal), SMRTV (San Marino), RTS (Serbia), RTVSLO (Slovenia), RTVE (Spain), SVT (Sweden), SRG SSR (Switzerland), Suspilne (Ukraine), BBC (United Kingdom)

32 of the 38 participating broadcasters will compete in Semi-Finals on Tuesday 13 and Thursday 15 May with the Top 10 from each qualifying for the Grand Final on Saturday 17 May based on public votes.

The draw to determine in which Semi Final they will perform will take place in Basel on Tuesday 28 January.

The other 5 broadcasters from France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom are pre-qualified for the Grand Final with host broadcaster SRG SSR from Switzerland.

Each participating broadcaster will choose their competing song and artist in the coming months in accordance with the rules of the competition. All songs must be submitted by mid-March 2025.

The confirmation of participating broadcasters comes after the EBU announced a series of enhancements for next year’s event aimed at safeguarding participant wellbeing, ensuring positive experiences for artists and delegations, and promoting the core values of community, respect, and inclusion.

Relevant links and documents

Contact


Dave Goodman

Digital and Communications Manager - Eurovision Song Contest and Junior Eurovision Song Contest

goodman@ebu.ch

NOTES TO EDITORS

Participation in the Eurovision Song Contest is open to public service broadcasters that are members of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the world’s leading alliance of public service media with 113 Members across 56 countries – along with 31 Associates in Asia, Australasia, Africa and the Americas.  

We strive to secure a sustainable future for public service media, provide our Members with world-class content through the Eurovision and Euroradio brands, and build on our founding ethos of solidarity and cooperation to create a centre for learning and sharing.

Our Members operate nearly 2,000 television, radio and online channels and services, offering a wealth of content for an audience of more than one billion people in 153 languages.

Visit our website: www.ebu.ch

The total reach of the Eurovision Song Contest in 2024 increased by 1 million people compared to 2023 and has grown by 2 million since 2022’s Contest in Turin.

The viewing share of the Grand Final was 46.7% - the highest share since 2006 and almost triple the broadcast channels average (17.6%).

Among Youth audiences (15-24 year olds), the viewing share of the Grand Final was 58.6%, the highest share on record and more than 4 times the broadcast channels average (13.7%).

486 million unique accounts were reached on TikTok during the event weeks, more than 4 times as many as in 2023.

TikTok also saw a total of 538 million videos views on the official Eurovision account – up 71% year-on-year.

69 million unique accounts were reached on Instagram – more than twice as many as in 2023.

Videos on the platform were seen 479 million times, 165% up on last year while content on the ESC Facebook page was seen by 23 million during the two event weeks.

42 million unique viewers across 231 countries and territories watched content on the official YouTube channel during the week of the Live Shows.