JJ crowns Austria with ESC victory: a musical miracle in Basel!

JJ crowns Austria with ESC victory: a musical miracle in Basel!

The 69th Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) took place on May 17, 2025 in Basel and ended with a brilliant victory for Austria. The artist JJ convinced with his ballad "Wasted Love" and thus secured the third ESC victory for his country, after the legendary success of Udo Jürgens in 1966 and Conchita Wurst in 2014. The event started at 9 p.m.

JJ not only prevailed against a large number of international competitors, but also exceeded the expectations of the betting agencies that Sweden had acted as favorites. The transfer of the ESC was followed by 180 million people in black and white, which is a respectable result despite the global competition. During the jury rating, JJ received eight top ratings of 12 points.

audience voting and future orientation

In the exciting public voting, JJ was even able to overtake Israel, which ended with 357 points. This shows how strongly the spectators were behind him. The next ESC is expected to take place in the Wiener Stadthalle and will organize by the European Radio Union (EBU).

The total costs for the organization of the ESC 2026 amount to around 30 million euros. This financial challenge poses major problems for the Austrian Radio (ORF) because it has to manage the costs without direct state subsidies. This leads to internal discussions about possible program restructuring within the ORF.

reception and return to Austria

JJ returns to Austria on Sunday, where he ends up in Vienna-Schwechat at 4:25 p.m. The ORF is already planning a large reception that is intended to include a fan reception, a press conference and a special TV program. This type of honor illustrates how important the ESC is for Austrian culture and identity.

The story of the Eurovision Song Contest, which was first held in 1956, is now long goes back. Ireland and Sweden share the record of seven wins, while the United Kingdom, France, Luxembourg and the Netherlands were able to triumph five times. For Germany this year ABOR & Tynna will compete with her song "Baller", while in recent years there were often sad placements for German artists: Inside, except 2018 when Michael Schulte took fourth place.

Despite falling ratings, the ESC remains an important TV event. The global ratings have decreased in recent years, but the results of the past year show a slight increase with around 163 million viewers. In Germany, around 7.38 million people switched on in 2024, which is just below the level of the previous year, but still occupied the relevance of the competition.

Interesting developments could be imminent for the future, while ESC remains one of the most popular music events worldwide. Kosmo continues to report on the importance of the event and Statista Information about the ESC .