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)

KANANASKIS, Alberta (AP) — When U.S. President Donald Trump last came to Canada for a Group of Seven summit, the enduring image was of him seated with his arms folded defiantly as then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel stared daggers at him.

If there is a shared mission at this year’s G7 summit, which begins Monday in Canada’s Rocky Mountains, it is a desire to minimize any fireworks at a moment of combustible tensions.

The 2018 summit ended with Trump assailing his Canadian hosts on social media as he departed on Air Force One, saying he had instructed the U.S. officials who remained in Quebec to oppose the G7 joint statement endorsed by the leaders of Japan, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany and, of course, Canada.

“I have instructed our U.S. Reps not to endorse the Communique as we look at Tariffs on automobiles flooding the U.S. Market!” Trump posted on the site then known as Twitter.

This time, Trump already has hit several dozen nations with severe tariffs that risk a global economic slowdown. There is little progress on settling the wars in Ukraine and Gaza and now a new and escalating conflict between Israel and Iran over Tehran's nuclear program.

Add to all of that the problems of climate change, immigration, drug trafficking, new technologies such as artificial intelligence and China's continued manufacturing superiority and chokehold on key supply chains.

Asked if he planned to announce any trade agreements at the G7 as he left the White House on Sunday, Trump said: “We have our trade deals. All we have to do is send a letter, ‘This is what you’re going to have to pay.' But I think we'll have a few, few new trade deals."

At stake might be the survival of the G7 itself at a time when the Trump administration has sent mixed signals about whether the president will attend the November Group of 20 summit in South Africa.

What Trump opposed at the 2018 summit in Quebec wasn't just tariffs, but a focus on having alliances with a shared set of standards seeking to shape policies.

“The big dispute in Quebec were the references to the rules-based international order and that’s where that famous photo comes from,” said Peter Boehm, Canada’s counselor at the 2018 G7 summit in Quebec and a veteran of six G7 summits. “I think it gave everyone the idea that G7s were maybe not business as usual.”

The German, U.K., Japanese and Italian governments have each signaled a belief that a friendly relationship with Trump this year can reduce the likelihood of outbursts.

“Well, I have got a good relationship with President Trump, and that’s important," U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Saturday as he flew to Canada.

There is no plan for a joint statement this year from the G7, a sign that the Trump administration sees no need to build a shared consensus with fellow democracies if it views such a statement as contrary to its goals of new tariffs, more fossil fuel production and a Europe that is less dependent on the U.S. military.

“The Trump administration almost certainly believes that no deal is better than a bad deal,” said Caitlin Welsh, a director at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank who was part of Trump's team for the G7 in Trump's first term.

The White House has stayed decidedly mum about its goals for the G7, which originated as a 1973 finance ministers' meeting to address the oil crisis and steadily evolved into a yearly summit that is meant to foster personal relationships among world leaders and address global problems.

The G7 even briefly expanded to the G8 with Russia as a member, only for Russia to be expelled in 2014 after annexing Crimea and taking a foothold in Ukraine that preceded its aggressive 2022 invasion of that nation.

Trump will have at least three scheduled bilateral meetings during the summit with other world leaders while in Canada, staring on Monday morning with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. The U.S. president is also expected to have bilateral meetings with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, according to an administration official.

The U.S. president has imposed 25% tariffs on steel, aluminum and autos, all of which have disproportionately hit Japan. Trump is also charging a 10% tax on imports from most countries, though he could raise rates on July 9, after the 90-day negotiating period set by him would expire.

The United Kingdom reached a trade framework with the U.S. that included quotas to protect against some tariffs, but the 10% baseline would remain as the Trump administration is banking on tariff revenues to help cover the cost of its income tax cuts.

Canada and Mexico face separate tariffs of as much as 25% that Trump put into place under the auspices of stopping fentanyl smuggling, through some products are still protected under the 2020 U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement signed during Trump's first term.

The Trump administration has insisted that its broad tariffs will produce trade agreements that box out China, though it's unclear how antagonizing trade partners would make them want to strengthen their reliance on the U.S. Carney, the Canadian leader, has been outspoken in saying his country can no longer look to the U.S. as an enduring friend.

That might leave Trump with the awkward task of wanting to keep his tariffs in place while also trying to convince other countries that they're better off siding with the U.S. than China.

“Trump will try to coordinate the group against China’s economic coercion,” Josh Lipsky, chair of international economics at the Atlantic Council, wrote in an analysis. “But the rest of the leaders may turn back to Trump and say that this kind of coordination, which is at the heart of why the G7 works, would be easier if he weren’t imposing tariffs on his allies.”

Boak reported from Calgary, Alberta. Associated Press writer Jill Lawless contributed to this report.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, right, meets with President of the Republic of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa, left, as the G7 gets under way in Calgary, Alberta, Sunday, June 15, 2025. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, right, meets with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz ahead of the G7 Summit at the Pomeroy Kananaskis Mountain Lodge, about 62 miles (100 kilometers) west of Calgary, in Kananaskis, Alberta, Sunday, June 15, 2025. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP)

President Donald Trump arrives on Air Force One at Calgary International Airport, Sunday, June 15, 2025, in Calgary, Canada, ahead of the G7 Summit. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

President Donald Trump, left, is greeted by Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand, right, and Dominic LeBlanc, center, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, as he arrives in Calgary, Alberta, Sunday, June 15, 2025, to attend the G7 Leaders meeting taking place in Kananaskis, Alberta. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)

President Donald Trump arrives on Air Force One at Calgary International Airport, Sunday, June 15, 2025, in Calgary, Canada, ahead of the G7 Summit. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

President Donald Trump arrives on Marine One to board Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Sunday, June 15, 2025, en route to the G7 Summit in Canada. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

President Donald Trump, second left, is saluted by escort by Air Force Col. Angela F. Ochoa, Commander, 89th Airlift Wing, right, before walking from Marine One to board Air Force One, Sunday, June 15, 2025, at Joint Base Andrews, Md., for a trip to Canada to attend the G7 Summit.(AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)