Sawt Falasteen - Eurovision week's opening parade set to start the party

The Swiss city is pulling out the stops as it hosts the 69th edition of the light-hearted TV spectacular that celebrates kitsch and pushes the boundaries of taste.

While Europop beats, dramatic staging and earworm choruses dominate on stage, the geopolitical backdrop always looms large, with protests again possible over Israel's participation while it ramps up its war in Gaza.

Eurovision is the world's biggest annual live televised music event, reaching around 160 million viewers.

The glamfest begins with Sunday's opening ceremony, when all 37 competing countries' entrants will parade through Basel, starting at the iconic 500-year-old city hall.

Vintage trams and buses will take the performers along the so-called "turquoise carpet" parade route -- the longest in Eurovision history at 1.3 kilometres (0.8 miles).

The parade will be accompanied by drummers, carnival groups, marching bands, alphorn players and techno acts as they cross the River Rhine over the Mittlere bridge, ending up at the "Eurovision Village" fan zone.

"This will create a unique spectacle in the middle of Basel's old town," says the city which sits right on the border with France and Germany.

- Israel in the spotlight -

Last year's contest in Malmo, Sweden saw street protests over the Gaza war. Israel's entrant Eden Golan performed under tight security amid threats, and was largely confined to her hotel.

More than 1,300 police officers will be on duty in Basel during Eurovision week, while video surveillance cameras have gone up around the fan zones.

Israel's entrant this year is Yuval Raphael. She survived the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that sparked the war in Gaza, hiding beneath dead bodies as Hamas gunmen attacked a music festival, killing hundreds.

The 24-year-old said she hopes her song "New Day Will Rise" will send a message of healing and solidarity.

Since the Hamas attack, music has been "something that heals my soul", she told AFP in a recent interview.

But more than 70 former Eurovision competitors called this week for Israel to be banned over the war in Gaza, which has claimed tens of thousands of lives.

"By continuing to platform the representation of the Israeli state, the EBU (European Broadcasting Union) is normalising and whitewashing its crimes", they said in a joint letter.

Spain's public broadcaster has also asked the EBU, which organises Eurovision, to open a "debate" on the appropriateness of Israel taking part.

Despite last year's protests, Golan finished fifth.

- Celine Dion mystery -

The semi-finals on Tuesday and Thursday will see 11 countries bow out, leaving 26 nations to contest Saturday's final at the St. Jakobshalle arena.

Switzerland is hosting after Swiss vocalist Nemo won Eurovision 2024 in Malmo with the highly personal song "The Code", about discovering non-binary gender identity.

Switzerland won the inaugural song contest in 1956, then triumphed again when Canada's Celine Dion competed for the Alpine nation in 1988, launching her career internationally.

Organisers are tight-lipped as to whether Dion, in fragile health, might spring a surprise star turn.

Swiss newspaper Le Matin, citing internal documents, said there was a two-minute slot in the grand final reserved for Dion -- but cautioned that the script was changing regularly.

- Sweden steaming hot favourites -

Sweden's entry KAJ are the hot favourites to win, with a comical take on the joy of having a sauna, driven by accordion licks and a catchy chorus.

Their number features the three singers in brown suits, surrounded by dancers in lumberjack shirts first grilling sausages over a bonfire before appearing in a mock sauna with towels around their waists, slapping their backs with birch branches.

A dour-looking comedy trio from Finland's Swedish-speaking minority, KAJ -- Kevin Holmstrom, Axel Ahman and Jakob Norrgard -- hope their steamy-but-not-in-a-sexy-way "Bara bada bastu" song -- "Just have a sauna" -- will give people a laugh.

"It's about relaxing with your friends, going into the sauna and having a nice time and coming out on the other side feeling great," Norrgard told AFP.

It is Sweden's first entry in Swedish since 1998, when Eurovision removed the national language requirement.

"To have Sweden, which is really the trend-setter at Eurovision, sending a song in (Swedish, will) have a major impact on the contest," historian and Eurovision expert Dean Vuletic told AFP.

"It's going to motivate more countries to send songs in their national languages".

Austria's JJ is the second-favourite with "Wasted Love", a song in the mould of "The Code", flipping between operatic vocals and modern beats.

France, the Netherlands and Israel round out the chasing pack, according to bookmakers.

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R.AbuNasser--SF-PST