The Eurovision Song Contest is back. Here's how and who to watch

LONDON (AP) — The Eurovision party is officially underway: a week of power pop, outrageous outfits — and, inevitably, protests — that culminates in the final of the 69th Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday night.

Competitors representing 37 countries are in the Swiss city of Basel for disco diplomacy and one of the world’s biggest spectacles. Organizers say last year’s final was watched by more than 160 million people — a guilty pleasure for some, an unabashed joy for others.

Here’s how and what to watch:

This year’s contest is in Switzerland because Swiss singer Nemo won the contest last year with the operatic anthem “The Code.” Basel, which borders Germany and France, was chosen as the host city.

Countries from across Europe — and a few beyond, like Israel and Australia — have sent an act to Eurovision. The performers will take the stage at St. Jakobshalle arena in semifinals on Tuesday and Thursday that will choose 20 acts to go through to the final.

The “Big Five” of France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the U.K., along with host Switzerland, automatically qualify for the final.

The competition will be aired by national broadcasters in participating nations, on streaming service Peacock in the United States and in many countries on the Eurovision YouTube channel.

Bars and clubs in many European cities will show the final at parties.

Halfdan Helgi Matthiasson, representing Iceland as half of sibling duo VAEB, said his family watches the classic, way, “sitting on a sofa with popcorn and snacks.”

Croatian contestant Marko Bošnjak said he was usually “the person who was hosting the Eurovision parties and forcing everybody to give me their scores and papers," adding: “It’s my Olympics. I live for this.”

Adonxs, this year’s competitor from Czechia, has fond memories of working in a London pub where staff were body-painted in the colors of a national flag.

“I did get an allergic reaction on my face the next morning, which I did not appreciate,” he said. “But yeah, I guess it was worth it.”

During and immediately after the semifinals and final, viewers in participating countries can vote by phone, text message or the Eurovision app — but not for their own country. Viewers in the U.S. and other nonparticipating countries can vote online at www.esc.vote or with the app. The combined “rest of the world” vote is given the weight of one individual country.

The semifinals are decided by public vote, and viewers can only vote in the semifinal their country is participating in.

For the final, the winner is decided by a complex mix of public voting and points from juries of music industry professionals in all the participating countries. The juries allocate between one and 12 points to their favorite songs, with an announcer from each country popping up to declare which has been granted the coveted “douze points” (12 points).

Public and jury votes are combined to give each country a single score. Ending up with “nul points” (zero points) is considered a national embarrassment.

Betting odds make Sweden the strong favorite with “Bara Bada Bastu,” an upbeat ode to sauna culture performed by the trio KAJ.

Favorites have tended to win in recent years, but that isn’t always the case.

Other strong contenders, according to bookmakers, include classically trained Austrian singer JJ’s “popera” song “Wasted Love,” French singer Louane’s ballad “maman,” Dutch entry Claude’s “C’est La Vie” and Israeli singer Yuval Raphael, a survivor of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack, with “New Day Will Rise.”

Israel has competed in Eurovision for more than 50 years, and won four times. But last year’s event in the Swedish city of Malmo drew large demonstrations calling for Israel to be kicked out of the contest over its conduct of its war against Hamas in Gaza.

More than 70 former participants, including 2017 winner Salvador Sobral from Portugal, 2023 U.K. entry Mae Muller and La Zarra, who competed for France in 2023, signed a letter calling for Israel to be excluded. They noted that Russia has been banned since its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

The European Broadcasting Union, which runs Eurovision, pointed out that Israel is represented by its public broadcaster, KAN, not the government.

Several of the national broadcasters that fund Eurovision, including those of Spain, Ireland and Iceland, have called for a discussion about Israel’s participation.

After tensions ran high last year, with the expulsion of the Dutch contestant over a backstage altercation, the EBU tightened the contest’s code of conduct, calling on participants to respect Eurovision’s values of “universality, diversity, equality and inclusivity” and its political neutrality.

It has barred performers from waving flags, other than national ones, onstage or in other on-camera areas. But some delegations have protested that effectively bans LGBTQ+ pride flags from an event with a huge gay following.

Audience members will be allowed more leeway, however, after controversy last year after a ban on Palestinian flags.

Associated Press journalists Hilary Fox and Kwiyeon Ha contributed to this story.

Marko Bosnjak from Croatia performs the song "Poison Cake" during the dress rehearsal for the first semi-final of the 69th Eurovision Song Contest, in Basel, Switzerland, Monday, May 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Theo Evan from Cyprus performs the song "Shh" during the dress rehearsal for the first semi-final of the 69th Eurovision Song Contest, in Basel, Switzerland, Monday, May 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Gabry Ponte from San Marino performs the song "Tutta L'Italia" during the dress rehearsal for the first semi-final of the 69th Eurovision Song Contest, in Basel, Switzerland, Monday, May 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Kyle Alessandro from Norway performs the song 'Lighter' during the dress rehearsal for the first semi-final of the 69th Eurovision Song Contest, in Basel, Switzerland, Monday, May 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Red Sebastian from Belgium performs the song "Strobe Lights" during the dress rehearsal for the first semi-final of the 69th Eurovision Song Contest, in Basel, Switzerland, Monday, May 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Netherlands' Claude poses for a photo, during the opening ceremony of the 69th Eurovision Song Contest, in Basel, Switzerland, Sunday, May 11, 2025. (Peter Schneider/Keystone via AP)

Austria's JJ poses for a photo, during the opening ceremony of the 69th Eurovision Song Contest, in Basel, Switzerland, Sunday, May 11, 2025. (Peter Schneider/Keystone via AP)

Israel's Yuval Raphael poses for a photo, during the opening ceremony of the 69th Eurovision Song Contest, in Basel, Switzerland, Sunday, May 11, 2025. (Peter Schneider/Keystone via AP)

Pro Palestinian protesters demonstrate, during the opening ceremony of the 69th Eurovision Song Contest, in Basel, Switzerland, Sunday, May 11, 2025. Sign read, '11th Commandment: Israel is allowed to do everything.' (Georgios Kefalas/Keystone via AP)

Sweden's KAJ pose for a photo, during the opening ceremony of the 69th Eurovision Song Contest, in Basel, Switzerland, Sunday, May 11, 2025. (Peter Schneider/Keystone via AP)

The search is on for one missing U.S. service member while another was rescued after two U.S. warplanes went down in separate incidents including the first shoot-down since the Iran war began nearly five weeks ago.

The incidents occurred just two days after President Donald Trump said in a national address that the U.S. has “beaten and completely decimated Iran.”

One fighter jet was shot down in Iran, officials said. A U.S. crew member from that plane was rescued, but a second was missing, and a U.S. military search-and-rescue operation was underway.

Separately, Iranian state media said a U.S. A-10 attack aircraft crashed in the Persian Gulf after being struck by Iranian defense forces. A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive military situation, said it was not clear if the aircraft crashed or was shot down.

The war now entering its sixth week is destabilizing economies around the world as Iran responds to the U.S. and Israeli attacks by targeting the Gulf region's energy infrastructure and tightening its grip on oil and natural gas shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.

Here is the latest:

The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran said in a social media post Saturday that an airstrike near its Bushehr nuclear facility killed a security guard and damaged a support building.

It is the fourth time the facility has been targeted during the war.

The Bushehr nuclear power plant uses low-enriched uranium from Russia, along with Russian technicians, to supply about 1,000 megawatts of power for Iran.

Its pressurized-water reactor can power hundreds of thousands of homes and other businesses and industries. But it contributes only 1% to 2% of Iran’s total power needs.

Iran has been trying to expand the facility to multiple reactors. In 2019, it began a project that ultimately plans to add two additional reactors to the site, each adding another 1,000 megawatts apiece.

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni has discussed with Saudi Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman defensive military assistance that Italy is providing against Iranian reprisals to U.S.-Israeli attacks.

A brief statement from Meloni's office Saturday did not specify what type of assistance Italy is providing.

It also said the two discussed diplomatic efforts to end the war, the importance of opening the Strait of Hormuz and “more broadly how to promote a regional framework that can break free from the current cycle of conflict.”

Meloni will continue her visit in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

U.S. and Israeli warplanes continued to pound Iran Saturday, hitting several targets including a petrochemical facility, Iranian media reported.

Iran's official English-language newspaper Tehran Times reported that an airstrike hit a facility belonging to Iran’s Agriculture Ministry in the western city of Mehran.

The newspaper said another air raid struck Mahshahr Special Petrochemical Zone in the southwestern Khuzestan province.

The semiofficial Fars news agency reported several explosions heard late Saturday morning in the facility.

Mehr, another semiofficial news agency, reported that the strikes hit four companies within the zone.

Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf made the veiled threat in a social media post late Friday, asking about how busy oil tanker and container ship traffic is through the strait.

The 20-mile (32-kilometer) strait links the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean and is one of the busiest chokepoints in global trade, with more than a tenth of seaborne global oil and a quarter of container ships passing through it.

Iran has already greatly disrupted the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz, sending fuel prices skyrocketing and jolting the world economy.

Disrupting transit through the Bab el-Madeb would force shipping firms to route their vessels around the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa, further hitting prices.

Israel’s rescue services said Saturday the man sustained glass shrapnel wounds after an Iranian missile hit the central city of Bnei Brak.

It wasn't clear if the glass shrapnel was caused by a direct strike or falling debris from an intercepted missile.

Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue services said it was taking the man to the hospital.

The Iranian judiciary's Mizan news agency said Saturday that the two men who were hanged belonged to the Iranian exile group Mujahedeen-e-Khalq.

The agency said Abul-Hassan Montazer and Vahid Bani-Amirian were convicted of “being members of a terrorist group.”

This brings to six the total number of MEK members executed since the start of the war.

Activists and rights groups say Iran routinely holds closed-door trials in which defendants are unable to challenge the accusations they face.

The Israeli military said on Saturday that its air force struck ballistic and and anti-aircraft missile storage sites in Tehran.

It said the strikes a day earlier included weapons manufacture sites as well as military research and development facilities in the Iranian capital.

It said the strikes are part of an ongoing phase to increase damage to Iran's “core systems and foundations.”

Authorities in Dubai said the facades of two buildings were damaged by debris from intercepted drones, including one belonging to U.S. tech firm Oracle. No injuries were reported.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard has threatened to attack Oracle and 17 other U.S. companies after accusing them of being involved in “terrorist espionage” operations in Iran.

Previous Iranian drone strikes caused damage to three Amazon Web Services facilities in the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

As of Friday, 247 of the wounded were Army soldiers, 63 were Navy sailors, 19 were Marines and 36 were Air Force airmen, according to Pentagon data available online.

It is unclear if the data includes any of the service members involved in the downing of two combat aircraft reported Friday.

Most of the wounded — 200 — were also mid to senior enlisted troops, 85 were officers and 80 were junior enlisted service members.

The current death toll remains at 13 service members killed in combat.

Palestinian Muslims attend Friday prayers outside Jerusalem's Old City due to restrictions linked to the Iran war, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

Tamara and her sister Amal color pictures on the floor as their parents, Sara and Ahmed, who fled their village of Khiyam in southern Lebanon due to Israeli bombardment, sit inside a tent used as a shelter in Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Mohammad Qubaisi, 53, with burn wounds from an Israeli airstrike on southern Lebanon undergoes surgery by Dr. Mohammed Ziara, left, and his team, at the Sidon Government Hospital in Sidon, Lebanon, Thursday, April 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

A bridge struck by U.S. airstrikes on Thursday is seen in the town of Karaj, west of Tehran, Iran, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

FILE - An F-15E Strike Eagle turns toward the Panamint range over Death Valley National Park, Calif., on Feb. 27, 2017. (AP Photo/Ben Margot, File)