Eurovision 2025 Semi-Final Allocation Draw Live from Basel!

At 12:30 PM CET, the much-anticipated Semi-Final Allocation Draw for the 69th Eurovision Song Contest will take place live from Basel, Switzerland.

In addition to determining which countries will perform in each semi-final, today’s ceremony marks the official handover of the Eurovision insignia from last year’s host city, Malmö, to Basel. Attending the event are Katrin Stjernfeldt Jammeh, the Mayor of Malmö, and Conradin Cramer, Basel’s City President.

Meet the Hosts

Leading today’s allocation draw are Jennifer Bosshard and Jan van Ditzhuijzen, who will guide us through this pivotal Eurovision tradition.

The Allocation Draw Process

Today’s draw will take place in two stages:

Semi-Final Voting Assignment:
- The six countries already pre-qualified for the grand final—Switzerland, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom—will be assigned to vote in one of the two semi-finals on May 7 or May 9.
Semi-Final Performance Allocation:
- The 31 remaining countries will be assigned to one of the two semi-finals and placed into either the first or second half of the show. The exact running order will be determined later by the production team to enhance the overall flow and balance of the performances.

Why Pots Matter

The 31 countries have been distributed across five pots, based on historical voting patterns calculated by Eurovision’s official voting partner, Digame. This allocation reduces the likelihood of neighboring countries favoring one another, creating fairer and more suspenseful semi-final outcomes.