The EBU (European Broadcasting Union) has released the list of the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest participating countries today. A total of 38 countries will compete in Basel, Switzerland.

32 countries will compete in the 2 semi-finals scheduled to be held on 13 and 15 May. A total of 26 countries will compete in the grand final on 17 May.

The Big 5 countries (Spain, United Kingdom, France, Italy and Germany) and the ESC 2024 winner Switzerland are automatically qualified to compete in the grand final. Hence 20/32 countries will proceed from the semi-finals to the grand final and join the Big 5  and Switzerland.

Hence 38 nations will be battling for the coveted Eurovision trophy in Basel next year.

Participating countries

1. Albania
2. Armenia
3. Australia
4. Austria
5. Azerbaijan
6. Belgium
7. Croatia
8. Cyprus
9. Czech Republic
10. Denmark
11. Estonia
12. Finland
13. France
14. Germany
15. Georgia
16. Greece
17. Iceland
18. Ireland
19. Israel
20. Italy
21. Latvia
22. Lithuania
23. Luxembourg
24. Malta
25. Moldova
26. Montenegro
27. The Netherlands
    
28. Norway
29. Poland
30. Portugal
31. San Marino
32. Serbia
33. Slovenia
34. Spain
35. Sweden
36. Switzerland
37. Ukraine
38. United Kingdom

Montenegro will be returning to the competition next year after a two year hiatus. There will be no debuting countries in the contest next year either.

Martin Green (Eurovision Song Contest Director/ EBU) says:

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 (ESC Reference Group Chair) says:

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 2025 Eurovision Song Contest is scheduled to be held on 13, 15 and 15 May at the St. Jakobshalle in Basel, Switzerland.

Source: EBU/SSR-SRG
Photo credit: EBU