Austria bested Israel along with bookies’ favourites Sweden to triumph at the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest, thanks to a spectacular performance of “Wasted Love” by singer JJ.
The 24-year-old Austrian-Filipino artist born Johannes Pietsch wowed viewers with his operatic voice and dramatic staging at this year’s contest held in Basel, Switzerland.
The Vienna-born singer was emotional as he accepted the glass Eurovision trophy and said “thank you Europe, I love you all”, after performing his winning song for a second time.
He added: “Love is the strongest force in the world, let’s spread more love.”
Previous Austrian wins include drag artist Conchita Wurst in 2014 with “Rise Like A Phoenix”, and 1966’s Udo Jurgens with “Merci Cherie”.
JJ won after the public vote temporarily put Israel’s Yuval Raphael and her song “New Day Will Rise” in first place, leading to a nail-biting showdown before the final scores were revealed.
Meanwhile, it was another disappointing result for the UK as pop trio Remember Monday received the devastating nul points from the public for the second year running.
Despite impressing viewers with their bombastic song “What the Hell Just Happened?”, members Lauren Byrne, Holly-Anne Hull and Charlotte Steele ended up in 19th place out of 26 countries, one lower than last year’s contender Olly Alexander.
The song’s James Bond theme orchestration and glam guitar prompted Italy to hand the UK 12 points, the highest amount a country can give a contestant.
The trio performed in Bridgerton-style outfits and were seen giving peace signs to the camera when they found out they had received nothing from the public.
Remember Monday were the UK’s first girl group entrant since 1999, and all have backgrounds in musical theatre.
Their song was co-written by Danish songwriter Thomas Stengaard, who was among those who penned the 2013 Eurovision-winning song Only Teardrops for his home country.
Eurovision 2025 was still somewhat overshadowed by protests over Israel’s participation due to its ongoing war on Gaza, in a conflict that has led to the deaths of over 52,000 people.
Two audience members were handed over to police after a crew member was hit by paint when they tried to rush the stage during Israeli delegate Yuval Raphael’s performance.
A spokesman for Switzerland’s broadcaster SRG SSR said: “At the end of the Israeli performance a man and a woman tried to get over a barrier onto the stage.
“They were stopped. One of the two agitators threw paint and a crew member was hit. The crew member is fine and nobody was injured. The man and the woman were taken out of the venue and handed over to the police.”
Raphael’s performance went ahead without being interrupted. She received a “mixed response” from the audience at the arena, according to the BBC’s host Graham Norton, and ultimately received a total of 357 points from the combined jury and public votes.
Earlier in the week, protests had been held around Basel and at Raphael’s rehearsal for the semi-final of the competition, when six people with “oversized flags and whistles” obstructed her act.
SRG SSR, which organised the event after 2024’s contest was won by Swiss singer Nemo, said the group was quickly ejected from the 12,000-capacity St Jakobshalle arena.
“We would like to thank all the artists, delegations, staff, fans and guests, including many children, who are making ESC 2025 a unique experience,” a spokesperson said.
“At the same time, we would like to emphasise that the organisers are committed to a neutral, safe, inclusive and respectful environment at the ESC.”
The remainder of the competition was a decidedly eclectic affair, comprising heavy techno anthems, innuendo-loaded pop songs and poignant ballads.
Sweden’s 2025 Eurovision entry KAJ were one of the favourites to win this year’s contest, thanks to their quirky and infectious song “Bara Bada Bastu”.
KAJ were the first ever Finnish act to represent Sweden at the Eurovision Song Contest, while “Bara Bada Bastu” was the first Swedish-language song the country had submitted since 1998.
Next year’s Eurovision Song Contest will now take place in the winning country, Austria, with the host city to be announced at a later date.
Additional reporting by Press Association.
