The 2025 Eurovision Song Contest final in Switzerland will have to "wait and see" if Celine Dion performs.
She did appear during the first semi-final on Tuesday, where she sent a video message saying she wants "nothing more" than to be in Basel, and recalling her triumph as a "life-changing moment".
At a press briefing on Saturday, Eurovision director Martin Green, from the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), commented on Dion, saying: "My answer was going to be, Father Christmas exist, you'll have to wait and see."
When asked by the PA news agency if he was feeling relieved that the contest has not seen significant incidents so far compared to 2024’s Malmo, when protests and politics overshadowed the singing event amid the outbreak of war in Gaza, he said that he was feeling "quite emotional".
Mr Green added: "I would be lying, of course, if we didn’t come into this hoping that we could re-establish a sense of unity, calm and togetherness this year in a difficult world, every single person over the past few months has worked to make that happen, not by force, but through conversation and demonstration of common-held values.
"And we have 12 hours to go, and if we get there, and I think we will, I am just in awe of this thing for making a really profoundly beautiful statement to the rest of the world."
A small group were ejected from the arena after Israeli singer Yuval Raphael's rehearsal on Thursday was disrupted by what appeared to be pro-Palestinian demonstrators with "oversized flags and whistles".
The EBU also confirmed it has received a complaint from Israeli broadcaster Kan over another incident, which involved political statements from Spanish broadcaster RTVE.
The EBU said in response to the latter incident: "We can confirm that we have spoken to RTVE regarding this matter and made it clear that commentators are expected to maintain neutrality within the broadcasts of the Eurovision Song Contest."
The Basel government said more than half a million people have visited the city so far this week after the competition came home to Switzerland, which first hosted it in 1956 in Lugano.
The Eurovision Song Contest Grand Final takes place on Saturday, 17 May, and will be shown live on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player from 8pm.
Source: Press Association
