BASEL, Switzerland (AP) 鈥� Competition in the 69th kicked off Tuesday, with sauna-loving Swedish entry KAJ gaining a place in the final and five countries going home after the first of two semifinals of the .
Performers from 15 countries battled it out in front of thousands of fans in , Switzerland for 10 spots in Saturday's final, with the result decided by viewers' votes.
Betting market favorites KAJ, a trio of Swedish-speaking Finns, performed 鈥淏ara Bada Bastu鈥� 鈥� a catchy ode to steam and heat whose title translates roughly as 鈥渏ust take a sauna鈥� 鈥� accompanied by dancers dressed as lumberjacks and clad in towels.
Joining KAJ in the final is another favorite with oddsmakers, 21-year-old Dutch singer Claude with soulful, Parisian-style ballad 鈥淐鈥檈st La Vie.鈥� Claude hopes to win for his country after the Netherlands鈥� 2024 contestant, , was kicked out of Eurovision last year over a backstage altercation.
Others voted into the final included Icelandic brother duo VAEB with a rap song about rowing, 鈥淩贸a,鈥� Norwegian singer Kyle Alessandro鈥檚 鈥淟ighter鈥� and two uber-Italian songs that aren't from Italy: DJ Gabry Ponte, representing San Marino with the upbeat 鈥淭utta L鈥橧talia鈥� and the highly caffeinated 鈥淓spresso Macchiato鈥� by Estonia鈥檚 Tommy Cash.
Ukraine, Portugal, Poland and Albania also made the final. Azerbaijan, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus and Slovenia were eliminated.
Music fans across Europe and beyond have traveled to the northern Swiss city of Basel, which is hosting Eurovision because won last year鈥檚 contest in Sweden.
Canadian chanteuse Celine Dion, who won Eurovision for Switzerland before she became a mega-star, sent a video message that was played before some of last year鈥檚 competitors performed her 1988 contest-winning song, 鈥淣e partez pas sans moi.鈥�
Viewers were also entertained with a comic song performed by hosts Hazel Brugger and Sandra Studer celebrating Swiss inventions, including the Swiss Army knife, muesli, processed cheese 鈥� and Eurovision, first staged in Lugano in 1956.
Tuesday鈥檚 showdown and a second semifinal on Thursday will narrow the field of 37 nations down to 26 who will compete in Saturday鈥檚 grand final. Twenty finalists will be decided by viewers鈥� votes, while six countries automatically qualify for the final: the host, Switzerland, and the 鈥淏ig Five鈥� who pay the most to the contest 鈥� France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the U.K.
Eurovision was founded partly to foster unity on a continent scarred by World War II, and its motto is 鈥淯nited by Music.鈥� But political divisions often cloud the contest, despite organizers鈥� efforts to keep politics out. Officials say more than 1,000 police officers are on duty in Basel this week, and organizers are expecting protests against because of the country鈥檚 conduct of its war against Hamas in Gaza.
A demonstration against antisemitism is also planned on Thursday, the day Israeli singer Yuval Raphael performs in the second semifinal.
Raphael is a survivor of Hamas militants鈥� Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel that killed 1,200 people. More than 52,800 people in Gaza have been killed in Israel鈥檚 retaliatory offensive, according to the territory鈥檚 health ministry.
Following tensions over Israel鈥檚 participation and Klein鈥檚 expulsion last year, the European Broadcasting Union that organizes Eurovision has tightened the contest鈥檚 code of conduct, calling on participants to respect Eurovision鈥檚 values of 鈥渦niversality, diversity, equality and inclusivity鈥� and its political neutrality.
Audience members will be allowed to wave Palestinian flags inside Basel鈥檚 St. Jakobshalle arena, after a contentious . Participants, however, can only wave their own national flag onstage or in other on-camera areas. Some delegations have protested that effectively bans LGBTQ+ pride flags from an event with a huge gay following.
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Lawless reported from London.
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An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that the first Eurovision contest was in Lucerne. It was in Lugano.
Martin Meissner And Jill Lawless, The Associated Press
