Hello from St. Jakobshalle once again! I will be live updating you of the proceedings of the first dress rehearsal of semi-final 2 from 15.30 CET.
We are watching the 16 performances from the acts, and then we will be escorted out before interval acts.
Will this semi-final produce upsets like we saw last night in semi-final 1? Only time will tell…
Eurovision theme plays. Let’s do this!
Opening act
We see different people from Basel on the screen saying welcome home, and then a big heart with the Swiss heart is carried across the stage to the back. It ended with a bang so loud that everyone jumped in their seat!
Our hosts Hazel Brugger and Sandra Studer are bidding us welcome to this second semi-final, giving us the information we need in the usual three languages. And now, it’s time for the first act!
1. Australia: Go-Jo – “Milkshake Man”
Go-Jo is visiting a movie museum in his postcard, trying out different equipment and then going into the cinema.
The opening jingle begins, and we see Go-Jo with the milkshaker in the background looking like a 50’s diner.
He brought a grandma on stage to tell about one of his milkshake flavours. Apparently her name is Susan, so she is probably not one of the Baranovskie Babushki from 2012.
Quickest quick change inside the shaker, and he then comes out of it being ripped shirtless by his dancers while rushing to the front of the stage.
He then runs back to his dancers to end in a final pose with them as milkshake girls by his side.
2. Montenegro: Nina Zizic – “Dobrodosli”
I didn’t catch the postcard, but now we see Nina in the back end of the stage in a big white dress with a back puff and blindfolded. She removes the blindfold before the first verse.
She moves slowly forward in the first bridge while we see silhouettes in the background.
The instrumental bridge takes her forward to the front stage and then the big back puff is dropped to reveal her fully white dress.
3. Ireland: Emmy – “Laika Party”
Emmy stands on a podium shaped like space shuttle with the dancers and Spaceboy in front of her on the floor.
We see the same LED’s in the background with Laika as a starsign first and then the marching legs in the “bam-bam” part.
Emmy has four dancers with her, and of course all six are clad in silver.
Low smoke is on the stage throughout the song and then added pyro spraying in the last chorus.
4. Latvia: Tautumeitas – “Bur man laimi”
The big draped curtain is ready for our six fairies from Latvia who begins in their usual a capella harmonies.
They slowly appear through the drapes to stand aligned and then disappearing into the drapes again after the chorus.
Second chorus sees them make a new formation before disappearing back into the curtains and building up to the finale.
Low smoke fills the stage as the final chorus reaches climax and we end with a zoom in on them as the take their final pose.
5. Armenia: Parg – “Survivor”
Parg is visiting a farm in the mountains in his postcard, eating fresh bread and cheese before ending in his signature winner’s pose in front of the beautiful scenery.
Shirtless Parg. It’s a theme in this semi-final.
He is on a slow moving treadmill on the front of the stage as he keeps on running, running, running. Hello Hungary 2014.
Camera shots shift from front to the side of him, and in the second chorus we get pyro and more pyro.
Warm red/orange colours appear in the bridge build-up. Did I mention pyro?
Final chorus goes bonkers as he jumps to and from the treadmill – and pyro. Don’t know if I had mentioned that before.
6. Austria: JJ – “Wasted Love”
Song nr. 6 in semi-final 1 was the bookies favourites KAJ, and in the second second semi-final it’s the number two favourite JJ.
He is wrapped in a blanket while sitting down in a boat-like shape. Remember the whole performance will be black and white on screen, so it’s fun for us to look back and forth between the actual performance and the screens.
Standing up in the first chorus leading on to the second verse where JJ sets sail for the rough sea awaiting him.
Second chorus sees flakes blown at him and then we build up to the final techno part.
We now get some dizzy camera shots with the sea being rough both under and behind him before ending in a kneeling position for the final high note. Think Gjon’s Tears 2021 and Nemo 2024. Biggest applause from the press so far.
Interval act 1
Hazel is being carried by 8 stage technicians lying on her back while asking random questions for a minute. I’m not sure if it was to fill time out or not!
Then we go to a report from the 60+ disco that Basel held last week with some guests telling how much fun they had.
# United Kingdom: Remember Monday – “What The Hell Just Happened”
Now it’s time for the first big 5-performance of the semi-final as the UK trio takes the stage.
They begin in front of a velvet bouduir on the front stage and in the first chorus they move to the back end where a crashed chandelier lies symbolising the morning after a fun night out.
We see replicas of them in the floor during the second chorus as they move forward again.
Plenty of vocal show-offs both individually and in harmonies.
They end up in the front of the bouduir where they look out through a heart shaped window for the end shot.
7. Greece: Klavdia – “Asteromata”
Klavdia stands on a podium behind a big rock while we see the mountain formations to the side of the stage being lit up.
Back LED opens up and we see lava and flying birds when Klavdia then moves to stand on top of the rock.
All of the LED is use as we shift from a burning tree to blue tones and more birds.
Third chorus sees the melted lava surrounding her and then ending in total white and a dress reveal also in white.
Lots of Greeks in the arena, so the cheering went wild.
8. Lithuania: Katarsis – “Tavo akys”
We see the band in formation on the back part of the stage with smoke filling the floor.
Back LED showing an eerie landscape with a single empty house. It’s definitely Lithuanian winter.
Three of them move forward to the front stage in the second chorus. Only the drummer is being left behind.
We see the camera shots shifting between the three, and as we go in the “tavo” part blue and whit light is flashing on the frame.
We build up to the final chorus with Lukas going back and forth on the podium.
Camera shots are slightly dizzy with the repetitive “tavo’s” and ends in a effectful finish with Lukas’ final outcry.
9. Malta: Miriana Conte – “Serving”
Miriana begins in a puffy yellow and black dress inside som big lips in front of a big disco ball.
She walks out of it getting accompanied by her dancers all in black stockings and red puffy belore jackets. Think Käärijä but in red.
We see leopard dotted panties on the side mountains while a Colosseum in pink colours builds up on the back LED.
Dress reveal in the bridge where we see the dancers mimicking the kicking legs on the back LED, and then they all move to the front stage to bounce on those Swiss balls.
Before they bounce there is an extra second of pause to get Miriana to belt out her high note in “doing all the……. TIIIIIME!”
They then bounce away as a Barbie-esque universe is revealed in the background before the end.
10. Georgia: Mariam Shengelia – “Freedom”
Mariam is on a leaning podium in a big white dress with a long veil and is then accompanied by dancers in front of her waving big white flags.
She steps down from the podium moving to the front end while her dress is removed and reveals a red pant suit underneath. Think Damiano David from Måneskin 2021.
In the final chorus she moves to the front stage while the dancers are now waving black flags in warrior poses in the background.
Interval act 2
Sandra is now up at the commentators’ booths talking to different commentators, among them the Danish and Swiss-French commentator.
# France: Louane – “maman”
It’s time for another of the bookies favourites, as Louane gets an icecream in front of Lake Geneva in her postcard.
A big round sand box is set up in the back end of the stage with Louane lying in it.
Sand is also falling thinly on top and behind her so she can reach out and touch it.
Second verse sees her digging slowly while the colours are shifting to more earthy tones.
Spraying sand is then moved to the side and then in circles from above.
Powerful final chorus where the sand flow stops as Louane takes a pose and the camera moves closer towards her.
Hazel and Sandra are put to work to dust of some of the sand. There is a lot!
11. Denmark: Sissal – “Hallucination”
I promised I wouldn’t be subjective in my descriptions, but this is my home country. And my queen Sissal.
Okay, now that it’s out of the way I can tell that a very tall and thin drape is being hoisted on the back end on the stage.
Sissal is sitting patiently waiting while Hazel and Sandra is still dusting the stage. I’m not sure it will take this long tomorrow evening!
Begins in a close-up black and white shot changing in “I see colours” going into soft purple/pink tones.
In the second verse dancers join her to form silhouettes behind the drapes.
Second chorus sees the dancers move forward while Sissal stands up and reveals her blue sparkly leotard with big boots while moving forward towards the dancers and a veil flowing after her.
Final chorus sees the five of them on the front stage and ending on a high note. Vocally flawless!
12. Czechia: Adonxs – “Kiss Kiss Goodbye”
We begin with Adonxs on the back end of the stage alone in his white tight suit with a black cape.
He is joined by his dancers in the first chorus and second verse.
All colours are in black and white until the dancebreak, where warm yello/orange colours appear as they all lose their black tops.
They move to the front stage in the final chorus to end in a big pose.
13. Luxembourg: Laura Thorn – “La poupée monte le son”
Laura begins lying down while the floor is a form of chess game moving around her.
She is then lifted up by her five dancers in the first chorus while doll house in very 1960’s fashion shows up on the back LED.
The whole group then moves forward in the second verse while the stage changes to more pink and black.
Last chorus sees a dress reveal where Laura is now in a silver dress during the little dance break. They end on a line where we see Laura silhouettes on the back LED and the dancers posing with her.
14. Israel: Yuval Raphael – “New Day Will Rise”
Yuval begins mid-stage with the stage floor in starry black and white surroundings.
In the first chorus she walks back towards the round stair tower with sparkly drapes.
She walks around the tower before walking onto it in the second chorus.
A rough sea is shown in the background as the third chorus begins and pyro curtain begins behind her.
Last silent part goes to almost black before revealing a full white stage and LED and she ends softly.
# Germany: Abor & Tynna – “Baller”
Before the home stretch we head to Basel’s neighbour Germany, where Abor and Tynna are on stage.
The opening begins with Abor playing an illuminated cello before Tynna hypes up the crowd and steps up on a high platform consisting of two big bass speakers.
She walks down from it in the second verse while stinding in the opening under it with some dancers close by, illuding being in a club.
She then joins Abor and goes to sit a small podium before moving forward towards the front stage in the final chorus and Abor now being the one on the podium.
We see the word Baller a lot on the back LED.
Abor smashes the cello into the ground giving way to some pyro bombs before colouring changing from black and blue strobes to pink and then Tynna ends up mid-stage in the final.
15. Serbia: Princ – “Mila”
Wearing a fully red suit we se Princ surrounded closely by his dancers while smoke fills the floor and blue tones on the back LED.
Second verse reveals a big eye opening on the back LED overlooking a calm sea.
Before the third chorus Princ kneels before the powerful finale, where he lies down and is being literally dragged on the floor towards the front stage by his dancers and pyro fills the back end of the stage.
We end in a final pose with Princ being carried by his dancers and him looking from the side into the camera.
16. Finland: Erika Vikman – “Ich komme”
It’s time for the final song of Eurovision 2025 when Finland komme.
Erika begins at the back end of the stage with her loose microphone pole in the first verse.
In the first chorus she steps onto a round podium to knock over another microphone pole.
Second verse sees Erika moving forward dragging her microphone pole behind her getting ready for the grand finale.
She bows down in the final bridge while the big golden microphone is being set up on the back stage.
Tempo rises, and so does Erika standing on the huge golden mic with the words ICH KOMME in huge letters while the microphone spews fire from the end.
We then end abruptly as the word ERIKA in big red letters are shown on the back LED.
The end
That’s it for the semi-finals. Now it’s up to Europe to decide tomorrow evening which 10 songs to add to the already 16 songs in the grand final on Saturday.
We will be back on YouTube after tonight’s dress rehearsal 2 with our thoughts on who’s qualifying and what surprises we might have in store.
So basically Albånia and Låtvia won the semis. Beautiful!
Where can I follow the draw and interviews?
drag him!!
How come they wouldn’t let Torino have their proper stage but they’ll pad out the gaps between songs with shots of the audience in Basel
Because the EBU always bends rules as suit them.
Georgia ,Greece,Ireland,Finland,Malta,Zchequia,Montenegro,Serbia,Armenia,Lithuania.my top 10 tonight,?
Are you from a semi final 2 country that can vote tonight or part of the rest of the world vote? You can make a difference.
Not gonna waste my time watching this slop.
bye
Enjoy curing cancer instead, or whatever else is your plan B
Well done on attracting hate for Poland, Marcin
No I have not seen the performances yet, but why are everyone so scared for Malta? Is it that bad? It was a sure qualifier 1 week ago, but now everyone is worried.
Because it sounds like the staging might be oversexualised and tacky. I hope they are not going to regret it later.
Remember the UK got zero points on the televote last year for a performance perceived as over sexualized. Don’t think it can’t happen to Malta.
Because Malta has a historically poor track record with the televote and some of their staging decisions may have crossed over a line that could put off voters instead of embracing them.
We can’t take any certainties for granted. No one is safe.
Im just praying for my girl Sissal
Vocal issues, the audience singing part drowned out and oversexualised parts that seem to be resulting in acts losing out.
I see.Thanks for telling. I hope she will qualify
I didn’t get to watch the first semi, except for Croatia’s performance, but i have impression the second semi is the stronger one and not boring, and i am gonna watch it. I also have impression the stage itself is a bit disappointing, in a sense not impressive as one would expect from a country such as Switzerland. Seems pretty basic and the arch is more of an annoyance that does not belong there. The British one was also basic, the Italian one had a malfunction, and the Swedish one though awesome, was impaired by so many controversies. Are we… Read more »
I think Malta is going to struggle to progress. Apart from UK I can’t see many other allies they have in this semi.
Don’t assume that anyone is safe, not even the possible front runners. Don’t throw away your shot because you think they’ll be fine and They don’t need my vote when I could give it to somebody else. Every vote matters.
I wasn’t going to vote for Czechia but had better do so now
I voted yesterday as part of the rest of the world, and I gave half my votes towards Latvia and Lithuania, five each, and I spread the rest of my 10 votes to Austria, Czechia, Denmark, Greece, and Luxembourg. I am not taking any chances and get complacent, and whatever happens tonight, and if some of these countries that I voted don’t go through, at least I will have peace of mind that I did try my best to support them.
I hope we helped Denmark, Lithuania and Luxembourg but not Czechia or Serbia sadly
these televote-only sf are not so bad after all, the only true great song that we lost was Latvia 2023
I’ve accidentally seen (TikTok swipe) the broadcast versions of Finland and Ireland. Finland is just AMAZING. She hit all marks, has Bambie style camera cuts etc. My winner by a mile. Ireland has great ‘sparkle’ and I think Saturday night needs it to mix it up a bit. A lot of dark and moody performances this year. Hope EMMY gets through to break that up a bit.
Now that Red Sebastian is undeservdly out of competition, I’m rooting for Laura Thorn because I live in Belgium but like 5 minutes by car from Luxembourg and also because she studied in Namur (Belgium). For tonight I’m also excited to see Finland, Austria, Malta, Denmark, Latvia and Australia because I like their songs and I love the artists (humanly based). I’m scared for Malta and Denmark though… On the other hand, I’m really not excited for Lithuania because I’m don’t like the song but they’re actually quite nice in interviews. Also a lot of people like them so I… Read more »
Went to the 2nd rehearsal, it’s an incredibly competitive semifinal. Finland was incredible, she is up so high at the end and the amount of stage hands for her act is funny. Armenia were the biggest surprise, I thoroughly enjoyed it.
So based on the performances, I found exactly 10 deserving qualifiers and 6 very deserving NQs:
1 Finland
2 Austria
3 Luxembourg
4 Greece
5 Latvia
6 Armenia
7 Montenegro
8 Serbia
9 Lithuania
10 Denmark
11 Czechia
12 Georgia
13 Israel
14 Ireland
15 Malta
16 Australia
there is no chance, ppl wont vote fo CZ, AU and IS
I don’t care, it’s not a prediction, it’s my personal ranking. Also, there is absolutely a way that people won’t vote for the two countries you mentioned that didn’t spend millions on aggressive billboard campaigns.
Finland were robbed in Liverpool (I live Loreen and still listen to tattoo, but Finland dominated that year).
Time for revenge. Sweden is the favorite currently and I would honestly love to see Finland do it on the night
please yes!!!!
That would be great!!! and I don’t like CCC.
I disagree, Finland were not robbed. Time has shown that Tattoo has proven the most popular beyond the fandom… 400 million streams on Spotify versus 120 million for Cha Cha Cha
I was wondering, as Jennifer Hudson was Remember Mondays coach and biggest advocate, does anyone know if she’s come to Basel to support them?
After seeing full performances (I couldnt contai myself and wait whoops): Finland is likely winning the semi imo. Can it win it all on Saturday? Maybe, and I wouldnt mind. I see what Austrias team were aiming for with the staging but idk… More simple approach might have been better – some of the camera shots and JJ choreo just looks so artificial. JJ while a GREAT vocalist, I think struggles to convey emotion (and the black and white color choice does not help imo) Lithuania and Latvia were my positive surprises, completely unique from everyone else and I think… Read more »
Positively surprised by Greece and Armenia. Don’t like the Armenian song but based on performance I’d actually like it to qualify now. I’d sacrifice Ireland, I’m tired of this childish act and I can’t hear those lyrics without cringing. Indifferent about Denmark and Czechia. Once more, Denmark is right on the edge.
I don’t get why people downvote your or anyone else’s opinion. If disagree, people should just write their opposite opinion in the comment, with respect. We want to hear people’s opinions, but when they share them and get lots of downvotes, they might get discouraged to comment in the future. Downvoting is such a lazy, disrespectful and simply wrong thing, shouldn’t be an option.
I agree. I can’t take downvotes seriously. There’s nothing constructive in it.
Just see it “agree/disagree”
I absolutely agree. They discourage and devalue conversation.
Really excited to see LATVIA and GREECE.
The negatives: Israel makes me feel nothing, the prop looks awful. I know she’s tight is it’s Erika, but Malta really shouldn’t qualify, I find it absolutely and utterly terrible. Just no. Australia as well. Georgia is a looong 3 minutes.
* tight with Erika
Agreed. I think Finland and Malta have an overlay in target audience, so they might be taking some points away from each other. However, I think Finland is overall way better than Malta, so I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Finland is actually causing Malta to NQ if that makes sense. Because I think for most people, if you’re in doubt whether to vote for Finland or Malta, you’d be more likely to choose Finland.
And Finland have the better starting spot, which could have been given to Malta. Mean after 3 NQs in a row and Finland also had the sweet spot only 2 years ago in Liverpool. No help to Montenegro either, unlike Luxembourg last year.
Thankfully not everyone has the same taste, i think Malta is fantastic and deserves to qualify!
After Finland and Austria, there is a huge gap, they are miles above the rest of tonight’s 16. My 3 favourites after them all made questionable staging choices. Still rooting hard for Luxembourg, Montenegro and Serbia though! But especially Serbia’s staging I don’t feel at all to be completely honest.
My impressions of the full performances: Finland remains my winner. Give the trophy to Erika! I am satisfied. Austria is also very strong, at times the seizure-like effects are too much for me though. Still great work! France looks magnificent, By far the best use of sand on a ESC stage ever. Germany’s staging is also very good, much better than I expected based on the rehearsal clip. Not sure if they will score well, but I also like the UK a lot, very uplifting. Basically all prequalified ones did great.
To me it’s still unclear why the bookies keep losing fait in Denmark’s Q. It’s def not a winner, but to me it’s clearly a quali-ii-ii-iiii qualification. Or whaaat???
I thought it he silenced audience was for Israel, but on reflection it’s probably because of Malta. The crowd will fill in the missing word, and uh oh, scandal.
Yeah that makes sense, unless someone was to forget to switch it on.
Or it could “randomly glitch” like that Switzerland camera did.
Serving Live!
Or the “stage invader” from Estonia could reappear
After Semi 1 I really don’t know what’s gonna happen tonight. I feel like Austria, Israel, Lithuania and maybe Finland are safe qualifiers and I’m also leaning towards Greece, Luxembourg and Latvia as somewhat safe qualifiers. Malta, Australia and Czechia may all be shock non qualifiers and Armenia or Ireland maybe a shock Q? I really don’t know!
I’m not assuming that anyone is safe.
Only i think that Czechia is overrated? I have a feeling it wont qualify tonight…
I hope so. The has always been quite boring.
Song is ok but his image is so horrible that I would prefer him to NQ.
finland, austria and is.rael are the only countries that NQ just won’t happen, and i’d throw lithuania in that group too
all the others can nq, including australia and malta, deemed safe by the fandom
Haha why do you write is.rael?
Me preparing my mental for MALT A, GREEC E or CZECHI A staying in semi. So I would not been shocked like BELGIU M and CYPRU S.
As we learned from last night, never assume anything. Don’t take any country for granted, even front runners the Results could surprise you. Vote for who ever you want, but make sure you balance it between your favorites and vulnerable ones.
Finland song is meibi guud, pat I tink wi will not win this kontest. Did you knou Erika Weekman is from Tampere, the pig sity?
Very good English man
Last night delivered shocks (Belgium) so I wonder what the shocks will be tomorrow.
And Ireland qualification? Lol
Austria not qualifying?
Israel…..
Im calling now: Czech republic is staying in the semis
Excellent shout.
Wonder which of the “predicted not to qualify” countries will take its place
Serbia or Ireland. As Latvia is currently predicted 10th.
Can see Malta missing out.
I am a big fan of Wiwibloggs, especially the videos at the beginning of the season, but lately it feels like they’re holding back and don’t dare to be critical. I understand the need to keep everyone on good terms so they’ll keep talking to you and attending your events, but I sometimes miss a critical perspective in the stories. I can’t always tell whether a performance was good or not.
Yes…in journalism it’s called “being captured by access.” It’s always a perennial danger.
Like Trump!
There was at least one voice crack reported in other blogs. But I still think this is a super resource.
Personally, France’s song just reminds me of a lost child on a shopping mall crying for their Mother.
It’s gonna be the biggest flop Saturday
How bad the wiwi readers are….that’s crazy.
The biggest flop is you znd your bad spirit, nothing else.
Ok that’s all you have? You came here to say that?
I knew the readers if this blog weren’t France friendly, it’s more than confirmed, thank you for that.
Chill, I was just making a joke. I don’t care about the song to either love it or hate it. Also, I liked previous French entries, has nothing to do with the country.
I see mentions of cheering for Austria and greece. What was the cheering for Israel like?
At the quiet first lines when she sang “Even if you say goodbye, you never go away”, it was quiet and everybody was listening, then there was one man shouting Free Pal. and the crowd started cheering and applauding for her to mute his voice. Same happened at the end of the song, when a woman shouted the phrase at her.
It was a beautiful performance.
Huh, I was expecting some booing, but I guess they’re saving that for Thursday and Saturday
Shouting that to a young woman whose friends were mur dred by the people who shout the same slogan, is the new nzi salute.
Interesting. When I was at eurovision last year, the boos where overwhelming. But swiss of course pride themselves on being so very ‘neutral’
There’s no need to boo a young girl singing a song on a big stage. She is an artist and we should respect that.
Cheering at the end for the beautiful performance.
I found the person that writes the article is not friendly about the Greek entry, ‘was a lot of Greeks inside so the cheering goes wild, nothing about her voice etc, what ever
I thought the same, Austria was cuz is good but greece was cuz of greeks
So hyped for Finland!
Can’t wait for WiWi videoblogg tonight after reading this
I promise as a rest of the world voter that I will do my duty to help Latvia and Lithuania make it to the final tomorrow. I think it’d be a great injustice that Estonia would be the only baltic nation in the final, despite having my opinion the worst of the three Baltic songs. I will also cast votes to Austria because you can’t take any country for granted even if they are a front runner. I worry that if Belgium couldn’t qualify with a song of high male vocals, Austria might be in a little bit of trouble… Read more »
This is where I am before knowing the performances:
1 Finland
2 Austria
3 Luxembourg
4 Montenegro
5 Serbia
6 Greece
7 Ireland
8 Denmark
9 Lithuania
10 Israel
11 Czechia
12 Armenia
13 Malta
14 Latvia (sorry about that)
15 Georgia
16 Australia (NOT sorry about that)
Sorry but are you listening to the same songs as the rest of us
Am I the only one (probably) that can’t get my head around the French entry. No disrespect, but I just find the song dreadfully tedious – downright boring.
Agreed… it is a long 3 ninutes of the same word… maman… near the end of the pack for me
Agree – it’s overhyped – with Swiss in the final this has little chance to be in Top 10 or even 15.
Yes ofc it will be bottom 5, troll…
But the UK deserves top 5 ok we get it girl….
Am I the only one (probably) that can’t get my head around the French entry. No disrespect, but I just find the song dreadfully tedious – downright boring.
Just the same chorus and ‘Maman’ all the time
Yeah I’m with you
No, no disrespect lol….
The uk performance sounds great. I really hope that they’ll get onto the left side of the scoreboard….and that the televote rewards them for their efforts. Will be interested to hear Simon’s opinion from seeing it first hand. Good luck girls!
In my opinion they ought to be Top 5! It’s brilliant!
If there is any justice in the world UK will be left hand side of the scoreboard, its my winner of the year might be baised though.
They are getting some momentum. Climbing the iTunes chart too