Favourites Sweden and Estonia sail through to the grand final - First semi-final was held in Basel, Switzerland, with a number of music skits and a special appearance from Celine Dion

Sweden has been named as a favourite to win Eurovision 2025 as the country continues to dominate the competition.

BASEL, Switzerland (AP) — Competition in the 69th Eurovision Song Contest kicked off Tuesday, with sauna-loving Swedish entry KAJ gaining a place in the final and five countries going home after the first of two semifinals of the pan-continental music extravaganza.

Sweden’s 2025 Eurovision entry KAJ are one of the favourites to win this year’s contest, thanks to their quirky and infectious song “Bara Bada Bastu”. KAJ are the first ever Finnish act to represent Sweden at the Eurovision Song Contest, while “Bara Bada Bastu” is the first Swedish-language song the country has submitted since 1998.

With Eurovision 2025 semi-finals set for May 13 and 15 in Switzerland, leading crypto sportsbook Cloudbet reports Sweden's KAJ has emerged as the market leader. The meme-driven entry “Bara Bada Bastu” is currently trading at odds of 2.12 in Cloudbet’s outright winner market.

The first semi-final also saw strong performances from Belgium and Netherlands, and a video appearance from iconic Canadian singer Celine Dion.

Here are the latest odds for the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest first semi-final: Sweden are favourites to achieve a record-breaking eighth victory in the Eurovision Song Contest in Basel on Saturday night and their quirky number also dominates the betting for Tuesday's first semi-final.

CELINE Dion left Eurovision fans in tears as she made a surprise appearance during the semi-final of the song contest. The Canadian superstar, 57, stunned BBC viewers last night when she popped up

Pro-Palestinian protesters have planned to walk the streets of Basel "silently" to demonstrate against Israel's participation in the Eurovision Song Contest.