BBC commentators have said they were “nervous” for the UK act Remember Monday before seeing their “mind-blowing” Eurovision Song Contest rehearsal.
The trio: Lauren Byrne, Holly-Anne Hull and Charlotte Steele, will harmonise on stage at Thursday’s second semi-final with their track What The Hell Just Happened?, a celebration of their close-knit friendship developed at Farnborough Sixth Form in Hampshire.
The musical theatre stars are the UK’s first all-female group act since Precious in 1999, and will hope for a better result than fellow actor and singer Olly Alexander, who came 18th at Malmo in 2024, and Mae Muller who placed second last at Liverpool in 2023.
Thursday night’s second semi-final at St Jakobshalle in Basel will include performances from some of the countries that have automatic places in Saturday’s final, the first time the UK, French singer Louane and German duo Abor & Tynna will be seen on television.
Hoping to qualify are October 7 survivor and Israeli singer Yuval Raphael, who will belt out her Hebrew, French and English language entry New Day Will Rise, and Norwegian singer and Ireland representative Emmy Kristiansen with the song Laika Party, about a Soviet dog sent to space.
Earlier today, Swiss broadcaster SRG SSR, which is organising the event, said six people, including a family, disrupted Raphael’s rehearsal with “oversized flags and whistles” and were subsequently escorted out of the venue in Basel.A spokeswoman said organisers are “neutral, safe, inclusive and respectful environment at the ESC”.
Videos on social media appear to show a large Palestinian flag being waved at the singer close to the stage.
Thursday’s second semi-final marks the first time in Basel that UK audiences at home can vote on under Eurovision rules.
Speaking to the PA news agency near the Eurovision Village in Basel, Switzerland on Thursday, BBC Radio 2 presenter Richie Anderson said: “I was in the arena yesterday, and I was genuinely blown away when they played the little (video) before, I was a little bit nervous.
“I imagine, like you’re watching a family member do like a performance, like in the school assembly or something like that.
“But as soon as they started singing, their vocals are just incredible. You’re blown away by how good they are, and they use every bit of the stage as well as great prompt.”
The Brummie presenter, 37, also said the group’s West End training comes in handy, as they “hit every camera” so audiences at home will feel like “they’re performing just for you. It feels like quite an intimate performance”.
Agreeing with her co-presenter, Radio 2 star Sara Cox said that “they’re a tight knit friendship group” who “shine” on stage.
Remember Monday are set to perform 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.
Outside the St. Jakobshalle arena on Thursday evening, Londoners Emily and Imogen, said they hoped for no “nil points”, for Remember Monday on Saturday, and were looking forward to seeing Go-Jo.
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 the result 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.
Cox, 50, praised Conte, saying it is “rare for me when there’s a song that is a banger, and I would listen to that in my leisure time”.
She added: “It’s giving a little bit of sort of Cardi B or a little bit of Doja Cat, she’s full of attitude, so I’m super excited about her tonight.”
Once all the acts have performed, the voting will begin with those countries 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.
On Thursday evening, a demonstration against antisemitism took place in Munsterplatz, near the city centre, with about a hundred protesters in attendance. They waved Israeli flags as they showed their support for Raphael.
This followed pro-Palestinian protests in Basel on Sunday and Wednesday – which appeared smaller when compared to Malmo 2024, which saw thousands of pro-Palestinian marchers.
The Grand Final on Saturday will also see reigning champion Switzerland perform, who as the host country are guaranteed a slot after their act, Nemo, was victorious last year.
British audiences can listen to BBC Radio 2 and BBC Sounds for live semi-final coverage with Cox and Anderson, and on Saturday Rylan Clark and Scott Mills take over as co-presenters for the final.
TV coverage for the semi-finals is provided by Clark and Mills, while Irish talk show host Graham Norton returns for the final on Saturday on BBC One at 8pm BST.
