The national selection “Chefsache ESC”, a collaboration between German national broadcaster ARD and RTL Deutschland, will be used to choose Germany’s representative for Eurovision 2025 in Basel, Switzerland.
The national selection “Chefsache ESC,” a collaboration between German national broadcaster ARD and the commercial television station RTL Deutschland, will be used to choose Germany’s representative for Eurovision 2025 in Basel, Switzerland. This announcement comes alongside Germany’s confirmation of participation in Eurovision 2025, which was made back in May. Reports have indicated expected changes in the Eurovision selection process due to Germany’s unsatisfactory results in the competition. Against this backdrop, German media speculated last November about the future involvement of music producer Stefan Raab in the German delegation for Eurovision 2025.
Chefsache ESC
Today, at a press conference held at the Swiss Embassy in Berlin, the collaboration between ARD, RTL, and Raab was revealed as the connecting link for producing the national selection “Chefsache ESC”. This new format will include four live prime-time shows to select the German representative for the competition in Basel. Additionally, the registration window for the national selection officially opened today and will close on November 28th.
The new format will initially include three preliminary shows produced by RTL. Inga Leschek, Chief Content Officer of RTL, said: “What an honor to be able to be involved in the Eurovision Song Contest! Shoulder to shoulder with ARD and Stefan Raab, we are devoting ourselves to the national task of the Eurovision Song Contest and, with the help of the entire reach power of RTL Germany, are looking for the German star for Basel.”
The fourth and final show will be broadcast live on ARD, which is also responsible for the subsidiary NDR that leads Germany’s participation in Eurovision. “Special events require special cooperation: I am delighted to be working with Stefan Raab and RTL to spark anticipation for the ESC 2025”, said Christine Strobl, Program Director for ARD.
National Selection Format
In total, the national selection will include 24 contestants competing in two quarter-finals, from which 12-14 will advance to the semi-final, and then 9 finalists will be chosen. All four shows will be hosted by Barbara Schöneberger, who hosted last year’s German national selection.
Stefan Raab himself, along with other experts, will serve as a judge in the first three broadcasts. However, the decision on who will win the national selection and represent Germany at Eurovision in Basel will be solely in the hands of the public.
Germany in Eurovision 2024
“Always on the Run” is the title of the song performed by singer Isaak, who represented Germany in the grand final of Eurovision 2024. The song was selected through a national selection process. Germany finished 12th in the final with 117 points, achieving 10th place among the juries and only 19th place in the public vote.
Source: Eurovision.de
Eurovision 2025: This will be Germany’s 68th participation in Eurovision. Germany joined the competition in 1956, was one of the seven founding countries, and has won twice over the years. Germany’s last victory was in Eurovision 2010 with the song “Satellite” performed by singer Lena Meyer-Landrut.
