Germany: Nine acts make it to the Final of Chefsache ESC 2025
Nine out of 14 artists qualified for the Final of the German national final for Eurovision 2025 in Basel
Tonight the Semi-final of the German national selection competition for Eurovision 2025 – Chefsache ESC 2025 – took place. 14 acts competed for a spot in the big finale which will take place next Saturday.
While the first two shows of Chefsache ESC 2025 had the participants perform cover songs or one of their older songs, they presented their songs for Eurovision 2025 in the Semi-final for the first time.
The qualifying acts were chosen by a jury consisting of Stefan Raab, TV-host Elton, as well as German singers Yvonne Catterfeld and Max Giesinger. Once the jury verdict was in these were the qualifying names:
Chefsache ESC 2025 – Semi-final
Chefsache ESC 2025
With four shows scheduled, the German Eurovision broadcaster has come up with a different national selection process for Basel.
This time around there will be two Heats, a Semi-final and a Final. 24 acts initially auditioned in front of a jury with a cover song or an original song (that is not their potential entry). From the two Heats, 14 qualified for the Semi-final.
Only during tonight's Semi-final the remaining acts performed their hopeful entry. From here, nine made the cut and will perform in the Final where one will be crowned as the winner.
All of the shows will be hosted by Barbara Schöneberger. During the Heats and Semi-finals, the jury will have 100% power of choice, whereas in the Final the decision will be fully made by the public.
Heat 1: 14 February 2025Heat 2: 15 February 2025Semi-Final: 22 February 2025- Final: 1 March 2025
Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest
Germany is a grand old country in the Eurovision Song Contest. They have participated 67 times since the beginning in 1956.
The only year Germany didn't participate was in 1996. Prior to the competition in 1996, 30 countries had signed up for participation, so the EBU had to make a selection. Judges from the participating countries made a secret vote, where the top-22 songs qualified. During this vote, the judges only listened to, but didn't watch, the contestants. This turned out to be highly unpopular, and it was also the only time this method was used. The result of the vote was that Germany was ruled out. This was the first and only time Germany didn't participate in the Eurovision Song Contest.
Germany's best results are two victories: in 1982 (Nicole - "Ein Bißchen Frieden") and 2010 (Lena - "Satellite"). Their worst results are nine last place finishes. Germany is a member of the "Big-5," which means they don't have to go through the Semi-final round and are automatically qualified for the Grand Final. They are also a member of "Club Nul Points," with zero points in 1964, 1965 and 2015.
