Ireland and Israel compete in second Eurovision semi-final

Ireland and Israel are among the countries competing in the second semi-final of the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest in Switzerland on Thursday.

Norwegian singer Emmy Kristiansen will represent Ireland with the song Laika Party, about a Soviet dog sent to space.

Meanwhile October 7 survivor Yuval Raphael will perform Hebrew, French and English language entry New Day Will Rise – with the aim of qualifying for the final at St Jakobshalle Basel arena on Saturday.

The evening will also see performances from three of the “big five” countries that have already made the final – British girl group Remember Monday, French singer Louane and German duo Abor & Tynna.

Thursday’s semi-final marks the first time in Basel that UK audiences at home can vote on under the Eurovision rules.

Remember Monday’s Lauren Byrne, Holly-Anne Hull and Charlotte Steele will harmonise on stage with the track What The Hell Just Happened?, a celebration of their close-knit friendship developed at Farnborough Sixth Form, Hampshire.

The musical theatre stars are the UK’s first all-female group act since Precious in 1999.

They will hope for a better result than fellow actor and singer Olly Alexander, who came 18th in Malmo 2024 – while Mae Muller placed second last at Liverpool 2023.

Remember Monday are set to go on after acts including Australia’s Go-Jo (Marty Zambotto) with the tongue-in-cheek Milkshake Man and Austria’s JJ (Johannes Pietsch), who is among the competition favourites with song Wasted Love.

Last year, Ireland – which holds a record seven wins with Sweden – came sixth with Bambie Thug’s witchy Doomsday Blue, the first time the country had made the final since Ryan O’Shaughnessy in Lisbon in 2018.

It is hoped Kristiansen can replicate that on Thursday, but she faces strong competition from Finland singer Erika Vikman’s energetic Ich Komme, Malta’s Miriana Conte with the pride-filled Serving, and Czechia’s dramatic song Kiss Kiss Goodbye, from Adonxs – a Slovakian singer who studied in London.

Once all the acts have performed, the voting will begin with those countries performing being able to cast their votes for their favourites, and 10 contestants going through to the final on Saturday.

In the final, qualifiers will also face Sweden representative’s Kaj with their entry Bara Bada Bastu, about Nordic sauna culture, Ukraine’s Ziferblat with the song Bird Of Pray, and Estonia’s Tommy Cash with Espresso Macchiato, among others.

The Grand Final on Saturday will also see reigning champion Switzerland perform, who as host are guaranteed a slot after their act, Nemo, was victorious last year.