Willkommen, bienvenue, welcome to a Eurovision Song Contest that embraces linguistic diversity

VIENNA (AP) — English has long been pop music's dominant language, but it no longer reigns supreme at the Eurovision Song Contest.

There are 25 languages, from Albanian to Ukrainian, sung onstage this year at the sequin-drenched international music competition, which reaches its finale in Vienna on Saturday. Eurovision performers increasingly want to share their mother tongues with the world.

“It’s easier to talk about your feelings in your native language,” said singer Pete Parkkonen, half of the Finnish duo who are oddsmakers’ favorite to win with scorching voice-violin duet “Liekinheitin,” or “Flamethrower.”

“And the main language is love, obviously," he said.

Eurovision once mandated that acts perform in an official language of their country, but since 1999 they have been able to choose any language. For many in the years that followed, English was an obvious choice for artists seeking an international audience.

Cultural anthropologist Andrew J. Green of King’s College London found that 20 of the 26 Eurovision winners between 1999 and 2024 were in English, but that the number of non-English songs has been growing in the past decade.

In 2016 there were only three songs with no English, and four in 2017. This year, contest organizer the European Broadcasting Union says there are 12 songs with no English, 16 entirely in English and seven that are multilingual.

The 35 acts competing at this year’s contest — 25 of whom made it through to the final — sing in languages including Spanish, German, Croatian, Azerbaijani, Latvian, Lithuanian and Romanian.

Eurovision fans around the world are learning, and singing, words like “Jalla” — a Cypriot term meaning “more,” and the name of the song by Cyprus’ contestant Antigoni — and “ferto,” or “bring it,” the title of Greek contestant Akylas’ infectiously catchy party rap song about overconsumption.

“It’s so important, because we’re all here to communicate our cultures, our languages, who we are," Akylas said.

“Bella,” by singer Aidan from Malta, mixes English and Maltese lyrics, to the delight of fans from the Mediterranean island nation.

Joseph Pace, who traveled to Vienna to cheer for Malta, said it’s “amazing” to hear fans from other countries try to sing along in Maltese.

“That we will listen to our language on an international stage, on a huge competition like this, it’s amazing,” he said.

Then there are the songs that mix multiple languages.

“Michelle,” the ballad by Israel’s Noam Bettan, has lyrics in Hebrew, French and English. Rapper Satoshi includes shout-outs in Romanian, English, Italian, French and more on raucous crowd-pleaser “Viva, Moldova.” Italian crooner Sal da Vinci sings in both Italian and the dialect of his native Naples on “Per Sempre,” his smooth-as-silk Eurovision entry.

Even the infamously monolingual U.K. is getting in on the act, showing Brits can count to three in German with “Eins, Zwei, Drei” by techno enthusiast Look Mum No Computer.

“People want Eurovision to be different from other song contests,” said Dean Vuletic, an academic expert on the contest's history. “They look for meaning in Eurovision because it is a showcase of cultural diversity.

“It’s countries competing against each other. And we want to see meaning in their entries. We want to see them say something about the countries and the cultures that they are representing.”

Some performers say it’s still useful to use English. Ukrainian singer Leléka usually performs only in her native language, but wanted her song “Ridnym” and its message of hope and renewal to reach the widest possible audience.

“It really has a very deep message that means the world to me, and I really want people to understand it,” she said.

Hilary Fox and Philipp Jenne in Vienna contributed to this story.

Satoshi from Moldova performs the song "Viva, Moldova!" during the first semifinal of the 70th Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna, Austria, Tuesday, May 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Aidan from Malta performs the song "Bella" during the dress rehearsal for the second semifinal of the 70th Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna, Austria, Wednesday, May 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Leleka from Ukraine performs the song "Ridnym" during the second semifinal of the 70th Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna, Austria, Thursday, May 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Akylas from Greece who performed the song "Ferto" reacts as the vote totals are announced during the first semifinal of the 70th Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna, Austria, Tuesday, May 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Linda Lampenius and Pete Parkkonen, who compete as Liekinheitin for Finland at the 70th Eurovision Song Contest, watch the camera after an interview with The Associated Press in Vienna, Austria, Thursday, May 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

NEW YORK (AP) — Jurors said they were at loggerheads Friday in Harvey Weinstein 's rape retrial, but a judge told the panel to keep trying for a verdict in the closely watched #MeToo-era case that another jury failed to decide last year.

The signs of stalemate emerged a few hours into the third day of deliberations. Jurors sent a note saying they “have concluded that they cannot reach” a unanimous verdict. Judge Curtis Farber instructed the group to continue deliberating. That's generally what New York judges do at least the first time a jury says it's stuck.

Jurors then returned to their closed-door discussions. They're tasked with deciding whether Weinstein — the former movie mogul who became a symbol of the #MeToo movement's campaign against sexual misconduct — raped hairstylist and actor Jessica Mann in a Manhattan hotel room in March 2013.

An appeals court overturned his 2020 New York conviction on charges that involved Mann and another accuser. At a retrial last year, jury deliberations broke down amid infighting on Mann’s portion of the case, leading to this current retrial. Weinstein is charged with one count of rape in the third degree.

Mann, 40, has testified that she willingly had some sexual interludes with the then-married producer, but that he subjected her to unwanted sex that day after she repeatedly said no.

Weinstein's lawyers maintain that the encounter was consensual. They have emphasized that Mann subsequently continued seeing Weinstein and expressing warmth toward him. Mann has said she was mired in complicated feelings about him, herself and what had happened.

Her viewpoint changed in 2017, when a series of allegations against the Oscar-winning Weinstein propelled #MeToo. Some of those accusations generated criminal convictions against Weinstein in New York and California.

Weinstein, 74, has said he “acted wrongly” but never assaulted anyone.

The current jury heard nearly three weeks of testimony, five days of it from Mann. Weinstein did not testify.

The Associated Press generally does not identify people who say they have been sexually assaulted. Mann, however, has agreed to be named.

Harvey Weinstein appears with attorney Marc Agnifilo in Manhattan criminal court, Thursday, May 14, 2026, in New York. (Spencer Platt/Pool Photo via AP)

Harvey Weinstein appears in Manhattan criminal court, Thursday, May 14, 2026, in New York. (Spencer Platt/Pool Photo via AP)

Harvey Weinstein appears with attorneys Marc Agnifilo, left, and Jacob Kaplan in Manhattan criminal court, Thursday, May 14, 2026, in New York. (Spencer Platt/Pool Photo via AP)