The Eurovision Song Contest is back. So and who can be seen

London (AP) – The Eurovision party is officially underway: a week of power pop, outrageous outfit – and inevitably protests – that culminates in the final of the 69. Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday evening.

Competitors who represent 37 countries are in the Swiss city of Basel for disco diplomacy and one of the largest glasses in the world. The organizers say that the final was observed by more than 160 million people last year – a guilty pleasure for some, an unavailable joy for others.

So and what can be seen:

Where and when is Eurovision?

This year's competition is in Switzerland because Swiss singer Nemo won the competition last year With the opera anthem “The Code”. Basel, which borders Germany and France, was selected as a host.

Countries from all over Europe – and some beyond, such as Israel and Australia, have sent an act in Eurovision. The actors will appear in the semi -finals in the St. Jakobshalle Arena on Tuesday and Thursday, which select 20 acts for the final.

The “Big Five” of France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Great Britain, together with Switzerland of the hosts, automatically qualify for the final.

As you can see

The competition is broadcast on the Eurovision YouTube channel by national broadcasters in participating nations, in the streaming service peacock in the USA and in many countries.

Bars and clubs in many European cities will show the final at parties.

Halfdan Helgi Matthiasson, who represents Iceland as half of the Duos siblings Vaeb, said his family watches the classic, “on a sofa with popcorn and snacks”.

The Croatian candidate Marko Bošnjak said that he was usually “the person who organized the Eurovision parties and forced everyone to give me their scores and papers” and added: “It's my Olympic Games. I live for it.”

Adonxs, this year's competitor from the Czech Republic, has good memories of the work in a London pub in which the employees in the colors of a national flag were part of the body.

“The next morning I got an allergic reaction to my face, which I didn't appreciate,” he said. “But yes, I think it was worth it.”

How to be right

During and immediately after the semi -finals and the final, the spectators in participating countries can vote by phone, SMS or the Eurovision app – but not for their own country. Spectators in the USA and other non -participating countries can be voted online www.esc.vote Or with the app. The combined coordination “Rest of the World” receives the weight of a single country.

The semi -finals are decided by public vote, and the spectators can only vote in the semi -finals in which their country participates.

For the final, the winner is decided by a complex mix of public votes and points by juries by experts in the music industry in all participating countries. The juries show their favorite songs between one and 12 points, whereby a announcer from every country appeared to explain what was granted to the coveted “Douze Points” (12 points).

Public and jury voices are combined to give each country a single number of points. The end with “NUL points” (zero points) is considered a national embarrassment.

Who you have to pay attention

Wetting conflicts make Sweden a strong favorite with “Bara Bada Bastu”, an optimistic or ode on sauna culture, which is performed by the trio kaj.

Favorites have tended to have won in recent years, but that is not always the case.

Other strong competitors are, according to bookmakers, the classically trained Austrian singer JJS “Popera” song “Wasted Love”, the French singer Louanes Ballad “Maman”, the Dutch entry Claude's “C'est la Vie” and Israeli singer Yuval Raphael, a survivor of Hamas '', October 7, 2023 “New Day,” New Day.

Why are protests likely?

Israel Has been in Eurovision for more than 50 years and won four times. But the event last year in the Swedish city of Malmo raised great demonstrations War against Hamas in Gaza.

More than 70 former participants, including the winner of the 2017 winner Salvador Sobral from Portugal, 2023 UK entry Mae Muller and La Zarra, who fought for France in 2023, signed a letter in which Israel is to be excluded. They found that Russia has been banned since its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The European Broadcasting Union, which operates Eurovision, pointed out that Israel is not represented by its public broadcaster.

Some of the national channels that finance Eurovision, including Spain, Ireland and Iceland, have called for a discussion about the participation of Israel.

After the tensions ran up last year, with the Expulsion of the Dutch candidate In a backstage, the EBU tightened the code of conduct of the competition and asked the participants to respect the values ​​of Eurovision for “universality, diversity, equality and inclusiveness” and its political neutrality.

It excluded the actors of waving flags as national, on stage or in other areas in front of the camera. However, some delegations have protested that effectively prohibit LGBTQ+ Pride flags from an event with a huge gay supporter.

However, the spectators are allowed more scope after a controversy after a ban on the Palestinian flags.

___

Associated Press Journalist Hilary Fox and Kwiyeon HA contributed to this story.