The Eurovision Song Contest is one of the last true live television spectacles. In 2025, 166 million people watched the Song Contest worldwide — an extraordinary figure in an era where audiences increasingly consume entertainment on demand. There are now very few programmes that genuinely feel unmissable in the moment. Fifteen years ago, that kind […]

The Model was designed to predict what would happen if the Eurovision Song Contest was held today. Today, it’s the day of the Grand Final – and Finland is the favourite to win.

It’s been a long road, friends, but tonight we finally see the culmination of months, even years of work. Following two competitive Semifinals, we have winnowed the field down to twenty-five acts, and only one will raise the crystal microphone high this evening.

As key nations withdraw from Vienna in a year clouded by geopolitics, it might be hard for some to come to our biggest party this year. Tonight, we remember those absent friends, but we also reclaim the good of the Song Contest through the defiant power of music.

A landmark rule technicality will allow Linda Lampenius to perform the first live-mic’ed instrumental solo on the Eurovision stage this century. This “Lampenius Rule” marks a watershed moment for the Contest, potentially opening the door for more live musicianship on the continent’s biggest stage.

We take a look through all 10 of the qualifying entries, analyse why gold is the magic colour for Australia, explore the innovative stagings of the returning countries Romania and Bulgaria, and ask which of these songs could have chances to succeed in the Grand Final on Saturday.