WHAT A NIGHT!

A big congratulations to JJ and Austria for taking out the 69th Eurovision Song Contest.

Well done to Basel as a host city, to the broadcasters, and to all 26 entries who gave us pounding electropop, quirky rock and outrageous divas.

Sadly, Australia didn't make the grand final but hopefully there's always next year if we're invited back.

Thank you for sticking around with myself and Maddy from 4.30am this morning!

Next year, we head off to Austria for Eurovision 2026 woohoo.

In his post-victory press conference, JJ said winning this year's Eurovision was "out of this world".

"This is absolutely insane. My dreams came true." 

He said he was "literally screaming and crying" when he realised he had received more than the 100 points he needed to overtake Israel and claim victory. 

"I was like okay, a hundred points to win. And then they said a hundred plus, and I was like ahhhhhhhh!"

"I'm going to have no voice tomorrow, but who cares," he said. 

There were a couple of shocks in the voting this year. Here's how things panned out:

• Iceland did not receive a single point from the jury votes
• Switzerland (the host country) and the UK got no votes from the public. That's the second time in a row for our friends across the sea
• Odds prior to the final had Sweden's KAJ group to take out the crown but they only managed to nab 4th spot
• Estonia had a complaint lodged against their song by Italians as they believed it mocked their country. The EBU didn't rule in their favour so Tommy Cash kept his song. I reckon Estonia will be thrilled with third place

My sum up of some of the results this year:

What. The. Hell. Just. Happened (you see what I did there?).

Israel's participation in Eurovision 2025 prompted a series of protests in Basel over the war in Gaza.

During the performance of her song New Day Will Rise, loud whistles could be heard in the arena and two people tried to get on stage.

"At the end of the Israeli performance, a man and a woman tried to get over a barrier onto the stage. They were stopped. One of the two agitators threw paint," a Eurovision spokesman told AFP.

"The man and the woman were taken out of the venue and handed over to the police."

Elsewhere in Basel, pro-Palestinian demonstrators clashed briefly with riot police. Blows were exchanged and police used tear gas.

Reporting with AFP

 As reflect upon the morning (or evening), here's some more of what the internet had to say. 

It was a nailbiter!

In the end it came down to two likely winners, with Austria leapfrogging Israel, which won the public vote despite protests over the nation's inclusion, writes my colleague Mawunyo Gbogbo. 

Read her full story here: 

We agree, Adam. JJ is a great winner. Those pipes are so unique, and the song and performance were both worthy of this year's crown. 

His win also means that Austria will be hosting next year. 

Put simply, JJ is the winner of Eurovision 2025!

The 24-year-old Austrian-Filipino artist, whose full name is Johannes Pietsch, is a professional performer at the Vienna State Opera. 

He's a countertenor, which means his vocal range most closely matches a female mezzo-soprano.

JJ is fluent in English, German and Tagalog.

The last time Austria won Eurovision was in 2014, with Conchita Wurst's Rise Like a Phoenix.