Eurovision 2025: Everything About the Final and Ziferblat's Performance
The Eurovision Song Contest 2025 final: what's known.
Today, May 17, the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 grand final takes place in Basel, Switzerland. 26 countries, including Ukraine, will compete for the right to host the 2026 contest.
The band Ziferblat, which won Ukraine's National Selection and then advanced through the first semifinal in Switzerland, will perform the song 'Bird of Pray.' In the final, their performance will be judged not just by viewers, but by juries from the other participating countries as well.
More on the finalists and the symbolism behind Ziferblat's performance — in this DeTalks article.
Who's Performing, and When
20 participants made the final from the two semifinals. Six more countries qualified automatically: host country Switzerland, along with the 'Big Five' — the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Italy, and France.
The performance order was determined by a draw. Ukraine will take the stage in the first half of the show, at position 7.
Full Performance Order.
- Norway: Kyle Alessandro — Lighter
- Luxembourg: Laura Thorn — La Poupée Monte Le Son
- Estonia: Tommy Cash — Espresso Macchiato
- Israel: Yuval Raphael — New Day Will Rise
- Lithuania: Katarsis — Tavo akys
- Spain: Melody — Esa diva
- Ukraine: Ziferblat — Bird of Pray
- United Kingdom: Remember Monday — What the Hell Just Happened?
- Austria: JJ — Wasted Love
- Iceland: Væb — Róa
- Latvia: Tautumeitas — Bur Man Laimi
- Netherlands: Claude — C'est La Vie
- Finland: Erika Vikman — ICH KOMME
- Italy: Lucio Corsi — Volevo essere un duro
- Poland: Justyna Steczkowska — Gaja
- Germany: Abor & Tynna — Baller
- Greece: Klavdia — Asteromata
- Armenia: Parg — SURVIVOR
- Switzerland: Zoë Më — Voyage
- Malta: Miriana Konte — SERVING
- Portugal: Napa — Deslocado
- Denmark: Sissal — Hallucination
- Sweden: KAJ — Bara Bada Bastu
- France: Louane — Maman
- San Marino: Gabry Ponte — Tutta l'Italia
- Albania: Shkodra Elektronike — Zjerm
Bookmakers' Odds: What to Expect From the Final
According to bookmakers' predictions, this year's best chance of winning belongs to Sweden's representatives — the band KAJ with the song 'Bara Bada Bastu.' Second and third place are predicted for Austria and France, respectively, while Ukraine currently sits 13th in the rankings.
But predictions like these aren't always accurate — either for the winner or for other contestants. In 2024, for instance, bookmakers' top favorite was Croatian performer Baby Lasagna, but in the final, he finished second, losing to Switzerland's Nemo with the song 'The Code.' Ukraine, meanwhile, was predicted to finish sixth, but alyona alyona & Jerry Heil, with the song 'Teresa & Maria,' finished third.
The Symbolism Behind Ziferblat's Performance
This year, Ukraine is represented by the band Ziferblat, made up of brothers Daniil and Valentyn Leshchynskyi, along with Fedir Khodakov. Their competition song, 'Bird of Pray,' tells the story of Ukrainians separated from loved ones by the war.
Valentyn has described the song as being about the problems they're living through, about the tragedy of the last three years, he told Wiwibloggs in an interview.
The title is a play on words: 'Bird of Pray' hints at both 'bird of prey' and 'pray,' representing both vulnerability and strength. The bird in the song symbolizes freedom, spring, life's cyclical nature, and brighter days ahead.
Director Maria Korostelova worked on the number's staging. One of the performance's metaphors, for instance, is a solar eclipse, which the band's frontman — Daniil Leshchynskyi — seems to flee from, with light flaring up beneath his feet.
The team has described exploring Ukrainian folklore and its striking imagery, ultimately settling on the nightingale, which awakens each new day with its song and lights up the sun, explained the director.
According to Korostelova, the soloist appears in the image of a traveler searching for light, resilience, and faith. The band's performance shows how Ukrainians, despite constant enemy attacks, wake up every day still wanting to keep living, with faith in a brighter future.
The band's performance in the final differs from their National Selection performance. The staged 'garden' with live flowers and grass is gone from the number — replaced now by an LED wall with pink-and-green neon graphics.
The band members' stage costumes also changed. Designer Ivan Frolov, who has created outfits for artists like Sabrina Carpenter, Dua Lipa, and Beyoncé, worked on their looks.
Frolov has explained that the plan was to leave out the flowers and greenery that appeared at the National Selection, but that they wanted to preserve those elements another way, so they now grow directly on stage, within the artists' own costumes, noting that the hollyhock is a particularly special flower for Ukrainians, since it represents the theme of rebirth, he shared Frolov.
How to Vote
All 37 participating countries can vote in the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 grand final. Viewers in Ukraine can vote two ways: through the online platform esc.vote or by sending an SMS to 7576, entering the contestant's number from 01 to 26. That number will be shown on screen during each contestant's performance. One message costs 8 hryvnias 50 kopecks.
One rule remains unchanged, though — voting for your own country's representative is prohibited. Only Ukrainians with numbers from foreign mobile operators will be able to support Ziferblat.
The final broadcast begins at 22:00 Kyiv time. You'll be able to watch the show on the TV channel Suspilne Kultura, as well as online — on the website or the YouTube channel Eurovision Song Contest. And if you're not in Ukraine right now — don't forget to vote for number 07.