The contestants for the Estonian Eurovision national final, ‘Eesti Laul 2025‘, have been chosen by a committee of the Estonian national broadcaster ERR and will be revealed in a few days!
Estonia’s national broadcaster ERR has chosen the contestants for “Eesti Laul 2025,” the national selection for Eurovision 2025 to be held in Basel, Switzerland. The contestants will be revealed on the TV show “Ringvaade” on November 4th and 5th, while the competing songs will be unveiled on the “Start” TV program on December 6th.
Impressive Submission Numbers and Linguistic Diversity
Out of 175 submitted songs, 110 were in Estonian, and 65 in foreign languages (English, French, German, and Italian). A jury of 34 people selected 15 out of 16 songs that will participate in the Eesti Laul final. The additional song will be chosen by the public through an online vote in early January. Notably, for the first time, there will be no semi-finals, and all 16 songs will compete in the grand final scheduled for February 15th in Tallinn.
Diverse Jury Panel for Song Selection
The committee that chose the songs in Estonia was composed of judges from several categories:
Musicians:
- Alika – Estonia’s representative at Eurovision 2023
- Jüri Pootsmann – Estonia’s representative at Eurovision 2016
- Kohver – Member of 5miinust band, Eurovision 2024 participants
- Maian Kärmas – Participated in Estonian Eurovision selection in 1998
- Mihkel Mattisen – Composer of Estonia’s Eurovision song in 2013
- Sven Lõhmus – Wrote Estonia’s Eurovision songs in 2005, 2009, 2011, and 2017, also wrote a song for Junior Eurovision in 2024
- Tanja Mihhailova-Saar – Estonia’s representative at Eurovision 2014
- Andry Padar – Estonian radio show host
- Allan Roosileht – Estonian DJ
- Grete Kuld – Estonian actress and singer
Radio hosts and music critics:
- Gita Siimpoeg
- Henri Laumets
- Johanna Mängel
- Jürgen Pärnsalu
- Maris Järva
- Maris Kõrvits
- Owe Petersell
- Pille-Riin Karro
- Robert Kõrvits
Composers and directors:
- Alice Aleksandridi
- Andi Aus
- Anneli Pilpak
- Heini Vaikmaa
- Jana Hallas
- Kristo Veinberg
- Magnus Müürsepp
- Raivo Tafenau
- Piret Krumm
- Saara Pius
- Siim Aimla
- Tarvo Mölder
Organizers’ Perspectives on the Selection Process
Riin Vanni, the producer of Eesti Laul, stated: “We are all the more grateful to them for this time and extensive contribution, listening, comparing and analyzing all the songs in different categories is the work of several days.”
A representative from ERR said: “For the second year in a row, the finalists of the Estonian Song are selected by a large jury, so that the ear and experience of professionals from different fields will give us the best result. The diversity of opinions is equally important, because, as the years have shown, neither the Estonian Song nor the big Eurovision has a single winning formula. Each competition surprises in its own way.”
Estonia in Eurovision 2024
5Miinust & Puuluup represented Estonia at Eurovision 2024 with the song “(Nendest) Narkootikumidest Ei Tea Me (Küll) Midagi”. The song was selected through the national finals Eesti Laul. It finished sixth in the second semi-final with 79 points, qualifying for the grand final against predictions. In the grand final, Estonia placed 20th with 37 points. This marks the third consecutive year Estonia has qualified for the grand final.
Source: menu.err.ee
Eurovision 2025: This will be Estonia’s 30th participation in Eurovision. Estonia joined the contest in 1994 and achieved its best result in Eurovision 2001 when singers Tanel Padar, Dave Benton and 2XL, won first place with the song “Everybody”.
