The Eurovision Song Contest reaches its grand final on Saturday night in Basel, with 26 countries fighting for the coveted glass microphone trophy.
The competition feels less predictable than recent years, when acts like Loreen (Sweden, 2023) and Kalush Orchestra (Ukraine, 2022) were ordained to win before they'd even sung a note.
Currently, bookmakers have installed Sweden at the top of the table, with their delightfully bonkers sauna sonnet, Bara Bada Bastu.
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But here's the thing: A novelty number has never won. Voters typically prefer songs about triumph over adversity, and stonking great pop anthems.
Ideally, they want a stonking great pop anthem triumph over adversity, and there are plenty of those sprinkled through tonight's running order.
We spoke to the five contestants with the best odds, to find out what makes their Eurovision entries stand out.
SWEDEN: KAJ – BARA BADA BASTU
- Chance of winning: 39%
- Language: Swedish
- Genre: Epadunk
- Spotify streams: 43.9m
KAJ are the first Finnish act to represent Sweden at the Eurovision, hailing from the coastal town of Vörå, where Swedish is still the main language.
A comedy troupe who met at school, they've been performing together for more than 15 years – and were the surprise winners of Sweden's Melodifestivalen, where the public selects the country's Eurovision entry, earlier this year.
Their song, Bara Bada Bastu, is an accordian-led tribute to sauna culture (Finland has more than three million saunas, one for every two people).
"It felt like a natural thing to sing about," says Kevin Holmström. "We really like the sauna. It's universal."
The first Swedish-language entry since 2012, the song extols the practice's stress-busting virtues. Is that why Finland is consistently ranked as the world's happiest nation, I wonder?
"It's a chicken and an egg situation," laughs Jakob Norrgård. "I don't know which came first, the happiness or the sauna, but the sauna definitely brings your pulse down."
The trio have brought a mock sauna to the Eurovision stage this year, complete with birch branches, hot coals and dancers in skimpy towels. In the lyrics, they ask, "how long can you last?".
"Oh, we can make it last all evening," confirms Jackob. "A sauna party that lasts for hours."
"I like to do it with a lot of intervals," says Axel Åhman. "Two to three hours, going in and out, having something to drink, maybe even snack on a sausage outside, and then go back in – just to make it a calm and long session."
And how does Finland feel about the fact the trio are representing their neighbour and Eurovision rival?
"Finns love a bargain, so this is great," laughs Jackob.
"Sweden gets to pay for everything, but it's a Finnish win as well."
AUSTRIA: JJ – WASTED LOVE
- Chance of winning: 22%
- Language: English
- Genre: Pop-opera
- Spotify streams: 6m
Austria has the best opening couplet of the year: ""
"It's about my personal experience with unreciprocated love," says singer Johannes Pietsch, who performs under the name JJ. "It felt like I was walking a one-way street."
The 24-year-old is moonlighting at Eurovision from his day job at the Vienna State Opera, where he's had roles in The Magic Flute and Von der Liebe Tod.
"A sold-out show at the opera holds 1,600 people, so that's nothing compared to the Eurovision audience," he says (last year's TV broadcast was seen by 163 million people).
Pietsch's song, Wasted Love, is a turbulent ballad that makes spectacular use of his counter-tenor, with an EDM twist.
On stage, he performs in a ramshackle sailing boat, clinging to the mast as the ocean threatens to consume him. It's one of the night's most arresting performances, and it requires a lot of preparation.
"That's the opera singer in me, I practice every day." he says. "I have to do vocal warm-ups to keep the voice active and before I go on stage, I always do ten push-ups and one-minute planks."
Reaching the Eurovision final has been a dream since he watched Conchita Wurst win for Austria in 2014. Could he replicate that success in Switzerland?
"That would be great for Austria. I would love to do that. I would call Conchita my mother, so I'd love to make her proud."
