The 69th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, which will be held next May in Basel, Switzerland, will feature 38 participating countries, one more than in 2024, with Montenegro returning after two years without participating, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), co-organizer of the contest, announced on Thursday.
“Preparations for the festival are already underway, in collaboration with our colleagues at SGR SSR (Swiss national television),” said festival director Martin Green, confirming the number of participants.
According to the list of nations provided by the EBU, Russia will continue to be unable to participate, having been sanctioned since 2022 for its invasion of Ukraine, and Israel's presence remains, despite anti-Israeli campaigns.
Of the 38 participants, 32 must qualify for the final on May 17 in the semi-finals to be held on May 13 and 15 (the St Jakobshalle in Basel will host all three competitions).
France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom have all secured their presence in the final, as the largest contributors to the competition, as well as Switzerland, as the host, having won last year's edition with the song "The Code" by Nemo.
Countries have until mid-March 2025 to submit their candidate songs and artists, and three have already done so: Cyprus has selected Theo Evan, the Czech Republic Adonxs and returning Montenegro has selected Nina Zizic.
Originally, the group NeonoeN had been the winners of the Montenegrin contest to select the candidate for Eurovision 2025, although the group opted to withdraw after it was discovered that the song they were presenting had already been released in 2023, in violation of Eurovision rules that require the use of unreleased songs.
Agencies contributed to this Aurora article.