NDR, the German broadcaster, has received a total of 3,281 applications for its forthcoming 2025 ESC German national selection and has confirmed the dates for the four televised shows.

The 2025 German national selection aka ‘Chefsache ESC 2025 – Who sings for Germany?’ will be co-organized by RTL, Stefan Raab, NDR and ARD with a total of four televised shows.  The first three pre-eliminary shows will be broadcast on RTL whilst the Grand Final will be broadcast on ARD Das Erste. A total of 24 acts will compete in the competition for the right to represent Germany at ESC 2025. During the pre-eliminary rounds Stefan Raab and an expert jury will be responsible to shortlist the acts during the first three shows, whilst the 2025 German Eurovision entry and act will be determined by the German public in the Grand Final.

‘Chefsache ESC 2025 – Who sings for Germany?’  will kick on 14 February and will conclude on 1 March.

• First show: Friday, February 14, 2025 | RTL
• Second show: Saturday, February 15, 2025 | RTL
• Third show: Saturday, February 22, 2025 | RTL
• Finale: Saturday, March 1, 2025 | 8:15 p.m. | Das Erste

The German national selection will be hosted by Barbara Schöneberger.

NDR’s official press release reads:

Rien ne va plus! On Thursday, November 28, the application deadline for the German ESC preliminary round “Boss’s business ESC 2025 – Who will sing for Germany?” officially expired. 3281 applications from individual artists and bands were received – the rush for a German preliminary round has not been so great since 2010! The applicants include both established artists with impressive careers as well as new and promising talents from various genres. 1198 musicians applied with their own song. The oldest applicant is 83 years old. Around 20 percent of all applications come from bands – and two of the applications were not submitted digitally, but by post. Inspired by the diversity and quality of the submissions, Stefan Raab can hardly wait to tackle the selection process.

Under the title “Chefsache ESC 2025”, Stefan Raab, RTL and ARD are joining forces to find Germany’s music hope for the Eurovision Song Contest in Basel. In three primetime live shows on February 14, 15 and 22 on RTL, Stefan Raab and his jury will select the best music acts. Several singing rounds and song disciplines will decide who will represent Germany in the big race. In the live final on ARD, the fourth show on March 1, hosted by NDR, the viewers will choose the winning act and thus decide for themselves who will represent Germany in Basel. Barbara Schöneberger will host all four shows.

“Chefsache ESC 2025 – Who sings for Germany?” is a production by Raab Entertainment for ARD (lead: NDR) and RTL.

Source: NDR
Photo credit: NDR