Austria wins Eurovision!
Austria has won the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest!
It's the third time Austria has won the competition. The country's first win came in 1966, and the second came in 2014.
Singer JJ, who performed the song 'Wasted Love', received a total of 436 points.
Israel came in second place.
— Jessica Bahr
So long, and thanks for tuning in!
Well, friends. That's a wrap of our Eurovision 2025 grand final live blog.
Congratulations to this year's Eurovision winner — JJ from Austria!
It was a joy spending over four unhinged hours with you all.
Now, Jess and I are going to head off to get an ESPRESSO MACCHIATO and some much-needed zzz's.
Until next year.
— Alexandra Koster
Audience votes roll in...
Despite not earning any points from the jury, Iceland earns 33 points from the audience, earning the second-last spot on the table, just in front of poor San Marino.
Albania earned a huge 173 audience points, taking them to a total of 218.
Israel was awarded a massive 297 points, ending with 357 points on the scoreboard.
Malta, my favourite, is awarded a mere 8 points. Diva down.
United Kingdom earn zilch. Nada. Nothing. It's the second year running that they've earned zero audience points.
Estonia's coffee bop is rewarded favourably by the audience, in a thankful return to form.
Sweden, the audience favourites going into the competition, earn 195 audience points, taking them to 321.
Switzerland also get a shock result, earning zero audience points despite earning 214 jury votes.
Austria earned a huge 170 audience points, taking them to first place!
— Alexandra Koster
In the lead...
Austria is leading in the top spot after dominating the jury votes, with a whopping 268 points.
Switzerland also scored well, with 214 points.
France and Italy have also scored well and are in third and fourth place after the jury votes.
— Alexandra Koster
Australia sends their 12 points to...
Australia sends their 12 jury points to... GREECE!
Australian Silia Kapsis delivers the news while sipping on a milkshake, likely still mourning the knock-out of our beloved Go-Jo.
Kapsis was born in Sydney and represented Cyprus at Eurovision 2024.
— Alexandra Koster
'Good morning, Australia'
This is just an appreciation for the countries that say 'Good morning, Australia' in their greetings.
Very polite!
— Alexandra Koster
How does scoring work?
Each participating country awards two sets of points: one from a professional jury and one from the public vote, or televote.
The jury vote is a panel, with each member ranking their top ten performances, excluding their own country. They award points from 1 to 8, then 10 and 12 for their favourite.
Meanwhile, the public vote is strictly for viewers in each country, who also vote for their favourites. The votes go into a pool for each country, which is tallied separately to give another set of 1 to 8, 10, and 12 points.
These scores are then added together for the total score.
Right now, Austria, Switzerland and Italy are leading the jury votes — though this could flip when audience votes start rolling in.
— Alexandra Koster
Points start to roll in...
The voting is closed and the points are starting to roll in.
Netherlands and Norway give their 12 points to Austria, while Slovenia and San Marino give theirs to Italy.
Armenia and Luxembourg give their 12 to France, Ukraine sends theirs to Germany, Austria to Finland, and France to Albania.
The jury votes are different to the public votes — more on that in our next post.
— Alexandra Koster
Who are your favourites?
As public broadcasters, we’re committed to delivering balanced, accurate reporting — free from outside influence. During an election, that means we’re duty-bound to stay impartial.
But this is Eurovision... and all bets are off.
Here are my unapologetic favourites:
1. Sweden: KAJ, 'Bara bada bastu'
2. Finland — Erika Vikman, 'Ich Komme'
3. Malta — Miriana Conte, 'Serving'
4. Estonia — Tommy Cash, 'Espresso Macchiato'
Jess' favourites are:
1. Iceland: VÆB, 'RÓA'
2. Poland: Justyna Steczkowska, 'GAJA'
3. Latvia: Tautumeitas, 'Bur Man Laimi'
Who are your favourites? Send them over to me at alexandra.koster@sbs.com.au.
— Alexandra Koster
Pro-Palestinian protesters clash with police
Police and pro-Palestinian protesters reportedly clashed in Basel during the Eurovision 2025 final.
The protesters were demonstrating against Israel's participation in the contest, as it ramps up its attacks on Gaza.
Israel is eligible to participate in Eurovision — despite not being in Europe — because it is part of the European Broadcasting Union.
In 2024 and 2025, there have been protests over Israel's participation, and calls for it to be excluded over the ongoing war in Gaza.
Israel's entrant Yuval Raphael was at the Nova music festival during the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel in 2023.
— Jessica Bahr
How about oneeeeee more meme break...
As we recover from two hours of sensory overload, let's give ourselves a brain break with some more delightful Eurovision memes, courtesy of X.
Voting closes at 8am
As the acts wrap, we've now got half an hour of voting time before polls close at 8:00am AEST.
Then, we'll have another hour of proceedings before the winner is announced.
Who's in your top three? Email 'em over to me at alexandra.koster@sbs.com.au.
— Alexandra Koster
Last act!
We're already at the last act for tonight — Albania's Shkodra Elektronike with 'Zjerm'.
'Zjerm' means fire in Albanian, which should have meant the entire stage was set alight.
Unfortunately, we get some pretty average pyrotechnics amid an otherwise lovely song — a swell way to end.
— Alexandra Koster
SAUNA TIME.
Take off your clothes because it's SAUNA TIME.
I don't know how I already know all the words to this, but that kind of cerebral connection is what you expect from what will absolutely be tonight's winners.
Sweden's entrant, KAJ with 'Bara bada bastu', feels like that delirious state you enter when you're sitting in a sauna and get slightly dizzy because you haven't chugged enough water.
Urge to roast a sausage over a live fire while playing the accordion, rising.
It's hot. It's sizzling. It's the winner.
— Alexandra Koster
Thinking about Go-Jo...
Physically, I'm watching our hosts yap on about a potential new Eurovision theme song.
Mentally, I'm here:
— Alexandra Koster
The best visuals from the Eurovision final
These incredible visuals and costumes just keep on coming!
Here are a few of our favourites.
— Jessica Bahr
Serving *REDACTED*
Excuse me ma'am, you're serving me WHAT?!
Malta's Miriana Conte's song 'Serving' made headlines after some sick people thought "serving kant" sounded suspiciously like something else.
All I see in this performance is a glorious redhead begging us all to "party all the time" and "have the time of our lives" — lovely, wholesome messaging.
Her performance ends with a bang, with 'DIVA NOT DOWN' blasted over the screen.
Miriana Conte's original performance, with much stronger wording, can be watched below:
Chef, order up!
— Alexandra Koster
Cortisol levels dropping...
It's time for a performance from the host country's Switzerland, Zoë Më with 'Voyage'.
It feels like a much-needed sensory break after being blasted by explosions, flashing lights and 'ICH KOMME!' for the last two-ish hours.
She's like Lisa Mitchell or Julia Stone, but Swiss! I think we can all collectively feel our cortisol levels dropping... just in time for them to ramp up again.
— Alexandra Koster
Leather pants on a treadmill
I don't mean to panic anyone, but in the next performance, there is a treadmill on the stage. I repeat: there is a treadmill on the stage.
This is Parg from Armenia with 'Survivor'.
He's wearing deliciously shiny leather pants to run in, which is terribly impractical but also very hardcore.
In between the rocking out, we even get a little ballad bridge, which is really just showcasing the diversity of Parg. He can do anything! He's a survivor!
— Alexandra Koster
How do they change the sets so quickly?
Fun fact: The backstage team at Eurovision only has about 35 seconds to change the set.
That's all the time they get to make sure the props are swapped out for the next performance and to get all the performers ready, mic'd up, and in the right spot.
"We call it the Formula 1 tyre change," Richard van Rouwendaal, the Dutch Eurovision stage manager told BBC.
"Each person in the crew can only do one thing. You run on stage with one light bulb or one prop. You always walk on the same line. If you go off course, you will hit somebody."
"It's a bit like ice skating."
The stage crew has about two weeks to practice before the big day.
— Alexandra Koster
It goes up, it goes down
The Netherlands is up next, with Claude's 'C'est la vie'
There's something nice about not knowing the words to any of these songs as a mere uncultured monolingual speaker, but feeling a jolt of excitement when they say, in English, "it goes up, it goes down".
So true, Claude. It does go up and down.
— Alexandra Koster
