Austria wins Eurovision as protesters ‘throw paint’ during Israel’s performance

Austria has won Eurovision 2025, with Austrian-Filipino singer-songwriter JJ taking the glass microphone.

The 24-year-old singer – whose real name is Johannes Pietsch – originally trained as a countertenor, and represented his country with the operatic ballad Wasted Love, dramatically staged on a storm-tossed ship.

The song, which was not dissimilar to that of last year’s winner Nemo, told the story of unrequited love, with a techno breakdown near the end. Austria has won Eurovision twice before, the last time in 2014 with Conchita Wurst’s pop hit Rise Like A Phoenix.

Israel’s Yuval Raphael, who survived the 7 October 2023 attacks which were the catalyst for Israel’s ongoing offensive in Gaza, was the runner-up with piano ballad New Day Will Rise, performed in Hebrew, French and English.

The singer was left “shaken and upset”, after two pro-Palestinian protesters rushed towards her during her grand final performance in the St Jakobshalle arena in Basel, Switzerland.

Organisers confirmed a backstage crew member was hit with paint but was not hurt.

A spokesman for the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation 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.”

A Basel police spokesman later said: “The organiser handed the two people over to the police. The police checked the two people and then released them. It is now up to the organiser to decide whether to press charges.”

Israel has won Eurovision four times.

Just as the grand final began broadcasting, Spanish broadcaster shared a message of Palestinian support which read: “When human rights are at stake, silence is not an option. Peace and justice for Palestine.”

The broadcaster had already received a warning from the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) over political statements reported by Israeli broadcaster Kan.

The EBU said in response to the latter incident: “We can confirm that we have spoken to RTVE regarding this matter and made it clear that commentators are expected to maintain neutrality within the broadcasts of the Eurovision Song Contest.”

During the evening, there were also pro-Palestinian protests near the centre of Basel, as well as a small group nearby protesting with Israeli flags.

Israeli National Security Council had issued a warning to Israeli civilians in the city to keep a low profile during the competition.

In a change from last year’s contest in Malmo, Sweden, the ban on certain flags being waved by the audience was relaxed which meant Palestinian symbols could be seen in the arena.

The UK’s act – country pop trio Remember Monday – who performed in colourful Bridgerton-style outfits – avoided the dreaded “nul points”, coming in at 19th place with song What The Hell Just Happened?

However, for the second year running, the UK received no points in the public score.

The UK has had five wins at Eurovision, but in recent years has struggled to rank, with the exception being Sam Ryder with Space Man in 2022, who came second.

Last year, Olly Alexander was placed 18th at Malmo, and Mae Muller was second to last the previous year in Liverpool.

The Eurovision grand final took place on Friday evening, with the winner from among the 26 performing nations decided by a mix of public voting and points from national juries.

The four-hour-long show was presented by an all-female team – stand-up comedian Hazel Brugger, TV presenter Michelle Hunziker and Eurovision veteran Sandra Studer.

There were performances by previous Eurovision runners-up Croatia’s Baby Lasagna and Finland’s Kaarija, as well as last year’s winner Nemo during the night.

Sweden had been widely tipped to win with their sauna-themed entry Bara Bada Bastu (Just Sauna), but ended up coming fourth.

Ukraine, who have made a strong showing each since they first entered the competition in 2003, and who won in 2023, came ninth.

Last year, protests and politics overshadowed the singing event amid the outbreak of war in Gaza, with some calling for Israel to be kicked out of the contest. Eden Golan’s Hurricane ended up finishing in fifth place.

Last year also saw The Netherlands‘ act Joost Klein kicked out of the competition by the EBU over alleged verbal threats to a female production worker, which he denied. This year, Dutch singer Claude, finished in 12th place with his song C’est La Vie.

Next year’s competition, Eurovision’s 70th, will be held in Austria.