The Eurovision semi-finals 2025 kicked off on Tuesday evening, with the first of the two shows under way in the Swiss city of Basel.
The first show sees 18 of the 37 countries participating, with bookmakers' favourite, Sweden's act KAJ, predicted for success.
However, just minutes in, BBC viewers issued a complaint about the sound being low and the lack of noise from the audience.
Taking to X, one person asked: "Why are Sweden’s backing vocals so goddamn LOUD #eurovision."
BBC Eurovision: Many viewers complained about what they thought was a sound issue
BBC
Another fumed: "What’s wrong with @bbceurovision @Eurovision this year all the music I way louder than the vocals so it’s hard to hear anything what any of the countries are singing.
"I hope it won’t be like this on the final on Saturday #Eurovision2025 #Eurovision #Eurovisión #Eurovisión2025."
"Why is the sound on the BBC so low for #Eurovision? It’s like they’ve forgot to mute Scott and Rylan’s microphones during the performances," another echoed.
"I wonder if they turned down the sound of the audience as a whole this year because of the booing last year. I can barely hear the audience #Eurovision," someone else theorised.
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"Is his mic working because I can barely hear him #Eurovision #Eurovision2025," someone else noted.
"why is everyone mics so low F***ING LOW TURN THEM UP I CANT HEAR THE RED DOT??? #eurovision2025 #eurovision," another frustrated fan shared.
Another penned: "It’s annoying me how you can’t hear the crowd noise properly on the TV broadcast. I can’t tell if it’s been mixed like that or if it is generally just quiet #Eurovision."
Switzerland is hosting the show this year following Nemo's win in Malmo in 2024. While the UK is among the five countries to automatically make it through to the final thanks to its financial contribution to the competition, the first of the semi-final shows will see only 10 countries making it though.
The night's opening act, Iceland's entry VÆB, was dealt a crushing blow earlier on Tuesday. According to the latest odds, the group was placed joint bottom of the list.
According to Betfred, Iceland's act had odds of 200/1 to win the show, with Portugal and Slovenia placed with the same odds.
Betfred’s Kayley Cornelius stated: "Sweden have entered this year's competition looking utterly unstoppable.
"The outright favourites to take home the trophy later this month, they’re also tipped to dominate the first round of semi-finals, currently priced as short as 1/5 to win this evening
Iceland's entry VÆB could be at risk of not making it though to the final, according to the latest odds
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"With such commanding odds, it would take nothing short of a miracle for another country to outperform them tonight.
"However, in the unlikely event that Sweden slip up and falter, Estonia could be set to soar and are the rising stars worth keeping on your radar.
"Priced at 8/1 to win the semi-final and 50/1 to qualify outright, they represent a compelling outside shot with serious upside.
"On the flip side, the same good news can’t be said for the likes of Portugal, Croatia, and Iceland, whose current odds suggest they’re likely to see their Eurovision journey come to an end tonight, missing out on a place in the grand final."
