Eurovisión 2025 what a Roller Coster

Eurovision 2025 has started with such a mountain of news that it's hard to know where to begin. Or maybe not.

Eurovision is famous for its big shows, whether it's stage, costumes, song or eccentricity, and it's often more fun to see everything around a song, than to hear the actual musical proposal offered by some delegation. It is not surprising that every year it seems to be a show of eccentricity more than anything else, and if that helps the delegations to win, then honestly all the better?

Now with what happened during last year's contest, nothing could have made things much worse, whether it was artists being censored as in the cases of Portugal, Sweden and Ireland, harassment of the press and some delegations or if that wasn't enough, the police presence in and around the arena where the contest is held. This year I must admit that I have remained very much on the sidelines because I wanted to have a more global idea of the songs, rather than focusing individually on each musical proposal. Now I see the error in my logic, because what happened during these last weeks seems so curious and improbable, that I wonder how many times a situation like the one we are currently experiencing has actually happened, am I exaggerating? But with every news that comes out regarding Eurovision, it seems to happen under highly improbable and clearly not impossible circumstances.

Eurovision 2025 has started in such a complicated situation, that anyone would forgive some mistakes. Some artists have decided not to go like the winner of San Remo, Moldova deciding not to attend, Israel on the other hand attending despite what happened last year, boycott and, of course, could not miss: Manipulation of results. Artists must deal with immense pressure to excel not only in musical terms, but also in their staging, which often involves considerable expense in production. In addition, political and economic tensions between countries can influence voting, generating mistrust and controversy. On top of that, public and media criticism and expectations put participants in a vulnerable position, where any mistake can be amplified and affect their image internationally. To handle the pressure, artists can focus on building a strong support team that includes media and psychological counselors. Practicing mindfulness or meditation techniques can help them stay calm and focused during the contest. 

Now there are new regulations around bullying and acts of harassment and the recent creation of COCC (Code of Conduct Community), this means that if you are engaging in inappropriate behavior, you will be asked to leave the premises. This sounds good and in theory this should be applicable, what worries me is how many people will be in charge of this huge organization, we are talking about serious conduct and the last thing we need is for this new body to be used otherwise, on the other hand, there is also a clause which specifies that the contest cannot be used to promote political messages of any kind and at the same time respect the voice of the artist, not that it is right or wrong, but how exactly is this going to be distinguishable? The EBU clearly learned from last year, sanctioning countries left and right was not going to get them anywhere, the point here is transparency and only practice will tell if the bodies created this year actually work.

Another important topic to discuss is the case of Måns Zelmerlöw, who has participated in Eurovision as a host and who, to top it off, has won, is part of Eurovision history and somehow or other always finds some way to be present. Måns Zelmerlöw has left an indelible mark on Eurovision not only for his victory in 2015 with “Heroes”, but also for his charisma and skills as a presenter in 2016. His constant presence at related events has helped keep the public's interest in the competition alive. In addition, his influence extends to inspiring new artists and fostering a spirit of camaraderie among the participants. This year, he has decided to return to participate in the 2025 Melodifestivalen, and to say that he was one of the most anticipated acts is an understatement, was he expected to win the national selection? I have no doubt that the answer was yes, but it is complicated to say that after 10 years of not participating in a competition like Melodifestivalen and winning would be in all honesty improbable and that is what happened; Måns Zelmerlöw with his song Revolution lost and I must admit that I am not surprised, his voice is good, but the song does not transmit anything, there is a message and that is clear, but it only seems noise, when he lost he uploaded a message to his social networks that later he had to remove, only time will tell what important changes Måns Zelmerlöw must make to continue sustaining his career in Sweden.

There is also the case of Germany, who basically informed that they would withdraw if they did not win Eurovision 2025, to which I say it is highly unlikely to happen. Germany, in my opinion, has throughout its history in Eurovision memorable moments, but none with the real possibility of winning, not that they have never achieved it, because they did it in 2010 with Satelite and the basis for that to happen, clearly are not present. It's not bad to have ambition and hunger to win, but wanting to be a superpower like Sweden, Ukraine or Ireland, change is not going to come just because and maybe restructuring their national contest is a good way to do it.

Martin Österdahl will remain in his position, but will not go on camera, and no one should be surprised by this decision on the part of the producers, the question will be whether it is just this year or will they leave it at that until the dust settles. Which brings me to my personal desire and that is to remove so much weight to the value of the judges, if you are fans of Eurovision, you know what I'm talking about; for years the judges have decided who wins and from that we see that our preferences are different from theirs, as an example we have in 2023 Sweden and Finland in addition to last year as was the case of Croatia and Switzerland. The point, at least for me, is not to remove them and modify the value we give to the professional and popular vote. 

Anyway, maybe in the future, Eurovision will opt for a more balanced voting system, where the public vote has a greater weight to better reflect popular preferences. We will have the results when Eurovision 2025 kicks off and I honestly can't wait to see what real changes are made and how they will actually affect it.