As we get ready for Eurovision to kick off in Basel in Switzerland on Tuesday, people in Ireland will have two songs to cheer on.
Croatia’s entry has been written by a primary school teacher from Dublin.
Ben Pyne (39) from Balbriggan is part of the team who wrote ‘Poison Cake’.
The song will be performed by Marko Bosnjak in the first semi-final on Tuesday night.
Ireland’s entry ‘Laika Party’ by Emmy is song three in Thursday’s semi-final.
Meanwhile, protesters could target Basel during the week of the Eurovision Song Contest, as Israel’s participation continues to generate anger amid the war in Gaza.
The city is hosting the 2025 contest, after Switzerland’s Nemo won last May in Sweden with The Code, which explored them coming to terms with their non-binary identity.
About 1,300 Swiss police officers will be on duty in Basel this week, with more forces drafted in from the Swiss Armed Forces, federal police and neighbouring countries – Germany and France – ahead of the two semi-finals on Tuesday and Thursday, and the grand final on Saturday.
Local campaigners Basel for Palestine attempted to place Palestinian flags near the Eurovision opening event, the Turquoise Carpet, on Sunday, and more protests are scheduled for Saturday in the city centre at 7pm.
Yuval Raphael representing Israel at the Eurovision Opening Ceremony in Basel. Photo: Harold Cunningham/Getty
However despite the expected protests, the Swiss appear confident they will have a Eurovision to remember.
There has been speculation that former winner Celine Dion will return to the stage, and the Swiss have promised city-wide events such as a food and drink street, 250 hours of live music, and the Eurovision Village.
Current favourites to win include KAJ, who are from Finland’s Swedish-speaking minority and will represent Sweden, with the upbeat comical Bara Bada Bastu inspired by the Nordic sauna culture.
The hit is the first time the country, which is tied with Ireland with the most Eurovision wins, has entered with a song in Swedish since the 1990s, when the rules on competing in a country’s official language were relaxed.
Basel in Switzerland is the Eurovision host city this year. Photo: Harold Cunningham/Getty
Others in contention are Dutch entry Claude Kiambe’s C’est La Vie, Austrian singer JJ’s Wasted Love, and French singer Louane’s ballad Maman.
Last May, the Netherlands’ contestant Joost Klein was kicked out by the EBU just before the final, over alleged verbal threats to a female production worker.
The move was heavily criticised by Dutch broadcaster Avrotros, and months later Swedish prosecutors dropped a criminal case against Klein.
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The EBU conducted a review and pledged a new code of conduct for 2025, with a raft of measures to “protect” the wellbeing of artists in Basel.
This year, former Eurovision competitors such as Ireland’s winner Charlie McGettigan, and the UK’s Mae Muller, who came second last in 2023, have signed a letter calling for a ban on Israel’s public broadcaster Kan, and accusing Israel of “genocide”, which Israel denies.
Last week, Irish protesters, including The Crying Game actor Stephen Rea, pushed for an RTÉ boycott of the event. The national broadcaster has written to the EBU to have “a wider discussion” on Israel’s inclusion.
The semi-finals and final start at 8pm Irish time and will be broadcast on RTÉ.