Eurovision Grand Final kicks off Saturday; Dutch entrant Claude to perform 12th

The Grand Final of the 69th Eurovision Song Contest will take place Saturday, May 17, at St. Jakobshalle in Basel, Switzerland. The broadcast is scheduled to begin at 21:00 Central European Summer Time (CEST), with 26 acts competing for the title.

Dutch singer Claude will represent the Netherlands and is scheduled to perform twelfth in the lineup. On Friday, he completed his jury show performance — a critical rehearsal observed by professional juries across Europe and Australia. These juries award points based on the dress rehearsal, which count for 50 percent of each country’s total score in the final.

Claude appeared composed during Friday’s performance and briefly addressed the audience afterward in both Dutch and English. One final rehearsal is set to take place Saturday afternoon ahead of the live event.

The Eurovision Song Contest, one of the longest-running televised music competitions in the world, is being hosted in Switzerland this year following Nemo’s win for the host country in 2024.