Last jokes before the Eurovision Song Contest 2025. Italy will be represented by Lucio Corsi, who will perform with “I wanted to be a tough”, a song that has conquered second place in Sanremo 2025, the Critici Mia Martini prize and the gold disc certification. The Tuscan minstrel took the place of the winner of Sanremo 2025, Olly, who gave up to participate. With his song, which recalls the tradition of the Italian songwriter seasoned with glam-rock fragrances, Corsi aims to maintain Italy among the top ten nations for the eighth consecutive year.
The order of the performances in the semifinals was officially announced on the YouTube channel of the event, scheduled in Basel, Switzerland.
The semifinal ladder
As already happened in previous years, the Big 5 (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) and the host country, Switzerland, will perform in the semifinals for exhibition purposes, despite being already qualified for the final.
Corsi will perform in the first semifinal of Tuesday 13 May. His performance will be the tenth of the evening, between Belgium and Azerbaijan. On the same evening, Gabry Ponte, representing San Marino, will also go on stage with “All Italy”, performing in eleventh position.
To open the first semifinal will be Iceland with the Duo Væb and their “róa”, while to close the show will be Cyprus with Theo Evan's “Shh”. The second semifinal, Thursday 15 May, will instead be inaugurated by Australia and closed by Finland, represented by the provocative Erika Vikman.
First semi -final – May 13, 2025
- Iceland – Væb – “Róa”
- Poland – Justyna Steczkowska – “Gaja”
- Slovenia – Klemen – “How Much Time Do We Have Left”
- Estonia – Tommy Cash – “Espresso Macchiato”
- Spain – Melody – “ESA Diva”
- Ukraine – Ziferblat – “Bird of Pray”
- Sweden – Kaj – “BADA Bada Basu”
- Portugal – Napa – “Deslocado”
- Norway – Kyle Alessandro – “Lighter”
- Belgium – Red Sebastian – “Strobe Lights”
- Italy – Lucio Corsi – “I wanted to be a tough”
- Azerbaijan – Mamagama – “Run with u”
- San Marino – Gabry Ponte – “All of Italy”
- Albania – Shkodra Elektronike – “Zjerm”
- Netherlands – Claude – “C'est la vie”
- Croatia – Marko Bošnjak – “Poison Cake”
- Switzerland – Zoë Më – “Voyage”
- Cyprus – Theo Evan – “ShH”
Second semifinal – May 15, 2025
- Australia-Go-Jo-“Milkshake Man”
- Montenegro – Nina Žižić – “Dobrodošli”
- Ireland – Emmy – “Laika Party”
- Latvia – Tautumeitas – “Bur Mani Laimi”
- Armenia – Parg – “Survivor”
- Austria – JJ – “Wasted Love”
- United Kingdom – Remember Monday – “What the hell Just Happened?”
- Greece – Klavdia – “Asteromáta”
- Lithuania – Katarsis – “Tavo Akys”
- Malta – Miriana Conte – “Serving”
- Georgia – Mariam Shengelia – “Freedom”
- France – Louane – “Maman”
- Denmark – Sissal – “Hallucination”
- Czechia – Adonxs – “Kiss Kiss Goodbye”
- Luxembourg – Laura Thorn – “The Poupée Monte Le Son”
- Israel – Yuval Raphael – “New Day Will Rise”
- Germany – Abor & Tynna – “Baller”
- Serbia – Princa – “Mila”
- Finland – Erika Vikman – “Ich Komme”
The final
The exhibition order of the final will be revealed on the night between Thursday 15 and Friday 16 May, with the only exception of Switzerland, already assigned to position 19.
The two semifinals will be broadcast live on Tuesday 13 and Thursday 15 May on Rai 2 and Rai Play, as well as on Rai Radio 2 and the digital terrestrial channel 202. The final, scheduled for Saturday 17 May, will instead be broadcast on Rai 1 for the tenth consecutive year, as well as on Rai Play and Rai Radio 2.
A multilingual Eurovision full of surprises
The 2025 edition will see 37 countries in the race, with a balance between cultural identity and universality: only 14 songs out of 37 will be entirely in English, while many artists will pay homage to their linguistic roots. Italy, San Marino and Estonia will sing in Italian, equaling the 2008 record for the presence of the Italian language in the race.
The youngest participant will be the Norwegian Kyle Alessandro, 19 years old, while the veteran of the competition will be Kole Laca, 53 years old.
Where to follow the Eurovision Song Contest 2025
The semifinals will be broadcast live on Rai 2 Tuesday 13 and Thursday 15 May, while the final on Saturday 17 May will air, for the tenth consecutive year, on Rai 1.
To conduct the final of May 17 will be Michelle Hunziker, Switzerland of birth but now Italian by adoption, a well -known face of music and national and international show. At the commentary, Rai confirms for the fifth consecutive year Gabriele Corsi, flanked by the new entry Big Mama, a multifaceted artist and already president of the Italian jury in 2024.
The event will also be available on Rai Radio 2, the digital terrestrial channel 202 and streaming on Raiplay.
Pre-parties and Italian vote
In the meantime, the artists are performing in traditional European pre-parties, from Amsterdam to London, passing through Copenhagen and Madrid. On April 19, Lucio Corsi will go on the Madrid stage for a preview of his performance to the Eurovision.
Antonio Santini for SANREMO.FM
