10 acts win a place in the Eurovision final but 5 are sent home as the music contest heats up

BASEL, Switzerland (AP) — Competition in the 69th Eurovision Song Contest kicked off Tuesday, with sauna-loving Swedish entry KAJ gaining a place in the final and five countries going home after the first of two semifinals of the pan-continental music extravaganza.

Performers from 15 countries battled it out in front of thousands of fans in Basel, Switzerland for 10 spots in Saturday's final, with the result decided by viewers' votes.

Betting market favorites KAJ, a trio of Swedish-speaking Finns, performed “Bara Bada Bastu” – a catchy ode to steam and heat whose title translates roughly as “just take a sauna” – accompanied by dancers dressed as lumberjacks and clad in towels.

Joining KAJ in the final is another favorite with oddsmakers, 21-year-old Dutch singer Claude with soulful, Parisian-style ballad “C’est La Vie.” Claude hopes to win for his country after the Netherlands’ 2024 contestant, Joost Kein, was kicked out of Eurovision last year over a backstage altercation.

Others voted into the final included Icelandic brother duo VAEB with a rap song about rowing, “Róa,” Norwegian singer Kyle Alessandro’s “Lighter” and two uber-Italian songs that aren't from Italy: DJ Gabry Ponte, representing San Marino with the upbeat “Tutta L’Italia” and the highly caffeinated “Espresso Macchiato” by Estonia’s Tommy Cash.

Ukraine, Portugal, Poland and Albania also made the final. Azerbaijan, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus and Slovenia were eliminated.

Music fans across Europe and beyond have traveled to the northern Swiss city of Basel, which is hosting Eurovision because Swiss singer Nemo won last year’s contest in Sweden.

Canadian chanteuse Celine Dion, who won Eurovision for Switzerland before she became a mega-star, sent a video message that was played before some of last year’s competitors performed her 1988 contest-winning song, “Ne partez pas sans moi.”

Viewers were also entertained with a comic song performed by hosts Hazel Brugger and Sandra Studer celebrating Swiss inventions, including the Swiss Army knife, muesli, processed cheese – and Eurovision, first staged in Lugano in 1956.

Tuesday’s showdown and a second semifinal on Thursday will narrow the field of 37 nations down to 26 who will compete in Saturday’s grand final. Twenty finalists will be decided by viewers’ votes, while six countries automatically qualify for the final: the host, Switzerland, and the “Big Five” who pay the most to the contest — France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the U.K.

Eurovision was founded partly to foster unity on a continent scarred by World War II, and its motto is “United by Music.” But political divisions often cloud the contest, despite organizers’ efforts to keep politics out. Officials say more than 1,000 police officers are on duty in Basel this week, and organizers are expecting protests against Israel’s participation because of the country’s conduct of its war against Hamas in Gaza.

A demonstration against antisemitism is also planned on Thursday, the day Israeli singer Yuval Raphael performs in the second semifinal.

Raphael is a survivor of Hamas militants’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel that killed 1,200 people. More than 52,800 people in Gaza have been killed in Israel’s retaliatory offensive, according to the territory’s health ministry.

Following tensions over Israel’s participation and Klein’s expulsion last year, the European Broadcasting Union that organizes Eurovision has 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.

Audience members will be allowed to wave Palestinian flags inside Basel’s St. Jakobshalle arena, after a contentious ban last year. Participants, however, can only wave their own national flag onstage or in other on-camera areas. Some delegations have protested that effectively bans LGBTQ+ pride flags from an event with a huge gay following.

Lawless reported from London.

An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that the first Eurovision contest was in Lucerne. It was in Lugano.

VAEB from Iceland performs the song "ROA" during the first semi-final of the 69th Eurovision Song Contest, in Basel, Switzerland, Tuesday, May 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

KAJ from Sweden performs the song "Bara Bada Bastu" during the first semi-final of the 69th Eurovision Song Contest, in Basel, Switzerland, Tuesday, May 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Claude from the Netherlands performs the song "C'est La Vie" during the first semi-final of the 69th Eurovision Song Contest, in Basel, Switzerland, Tuesday, May 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Klemen from Slovenia performs the song "How Much Time Do We Have Left" during the first semi-final of the 69th Eurovision Song Contest, in Basel, Switzerland, Tuesday, May 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Hosts Hazel Brugger, left and Sandra Studer, on stage during the first semi-final of the 69th Eurovision Song Contest, in Basel, Switzerland, Tuesday, May 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.

Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.

Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”

Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”

Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.

“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”

He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”

Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.

More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.

With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.

Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.

In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.

Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”

Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.

“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.

The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.

The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.

Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.

In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)