section_path: Participants
section_name: Participants
paragraph_text: Participants
  
  Eligibility for participation in the Eurovision Song Contest requires a national broadcaster with an EBU membership that is capable of receiving the contest via the Eurovision network and broadcasting it live nationwide. The EBU issues invitations to participate in the contest to all members.
  
  On 12 December 2024, the EBU initially announced that broadcasters from 38 countries would participate in the 2025 contest, including Montenegro, returning after a two-year absence. On 22 January 2025, Moldova announced its withdrawal, citing economic reasons and the quality of its national final, thereby reducing the number of participating countries to 37.
  
  The contest featured two returning artists for the same country: Justyna Steczkowska had previously represented Poland in 1995, and Nina Žižić had appeared with Who See for Montenegro in 2013. Steczkowska's return 30 years after her first appearance broke the record for the longest gap between two participations by the same artist, which was previously held by Anna Vissi with a gap of 24 years between her entries for Cyprus in 1982 and Greece in 2006.