As another year draws to a close, we at Eurovision Ireland are looking back and remembering those from the world of Eurovision who we sadly lost in 2025.

PERFORMERS

Clodagh Rodgers (UK)

.Clodagh represented the United Kingdom in 1971 with the song “Jack in the Box . She came 4th at the contest in Dublin , she was of Northern Irish descent .She passed away on April 18, 2025, aged 78 years.

Helga Wéber ( HUNGARY )

Helga was a backing singer for Hungary in the 2012 contest with Compact Disco , singing “Sound of our hearts” and again in 2013 with Bye Alex and “Kedvesem”. She passed away aged just 39 following a long-term illness.At the 2012 contest ,in Baku, Compact Disco qualified for the Grand Final and then finished in 24th place .Bye Alex finished 10th in the Grand Final in Malmö, Sweden.

Claes Bure ( SWEDEN)

Claes Bure was a member of the Swedish group Forbes , who represented Sweden at the 1977 contest in London, UK ,They came 18th with their song, “Beatles “. Claes Bure passed away on 30th April, aged 75.

Ladislav Paden (Yugoslavia)

Ladislav Paden represented the then Yugoslavia as part of the group Dubrovački Trubaduri” at the 1968 contest in London , UK .They came 7th with the song “Jedan Dan”. Ladislav died on 6th May 2025 aged 81.

Inge Brück ( GERMANY )

Inge represented Germany in 1967, in Vienna , with the song “Anouschka”. She came in at 8th place . She passed away on 8th September , aged 88.

The Kessler Twins, Alice and Ellen . ( GERMANY )

The Kessler Twins represented West Germany at the contest way back in1959 with the song “Heute Abend wollen wir tanzen geh’n”. They finished in 8th place . Alice and Ellen passed away on 17th November 2025, choosing to die by assisted suicide at the age of 89 ,as neither wanted to become dependent on nursing care and wanted to die together . It was known at the time that health problems were impacting on their quality of life.

Jarkko Antikainen (FINLAND )

Jarkko, along with partner Laura , who he later married , were a singing duo who represented Finland at the Eurovision Song contest 1969, in Madrid, Spain, with the song “Kuin silloin ennen ” ( Like in those times). They came 12th in what was a controversial year for the contest when four countries tied for first place. Jarkko died on 18th October 2025, aged 75.

Fanny Biascamano (FRANCE)

This week we heard the sad news that Fanny Biascamo, who represented France at the contest in Dublin in 1997 , with “Sentiments songes” has passed away . She was just 46 years of age and had been battling cancer.She rose to fame at the age of 12 when she appeared on the TF1 show Sacrée Soirée, performimg “L’homme à la moto ” by Edith Piaf. She was internally selected by France 2 to represent France at the Eurovision Song Contest 1997 in Dublin . She came 7th with 95 points with the winner that year being the UK with Katrina and the Waves, “Love, shine a light”.Following Eurovision, she continued to perform and tour across France and in 2008 toured the globe performing covers of Edith Piaf . She also became a writer, writing three books, mostly about French cuisine .

Composers & Songwriters

Stipica Kalogjera-(YUGOSLAVIA)

Born in Serbia, Stipica composed the entries for Yugoslavia in 1968 and Croatia in 1995 .He also conducted both the 1995 and 1998 Croatian entries at the contest . He died on 3rd January 2025 , aged 90.

Fred Bekky (BELGIUM)

Fred composed the 1982 Belgian entry and performed as a backer for Belgium in 1981 and 1982. He died on 21st February 2025 aged 80 .

Jack White ( LUXEMBOURG)

Jack White composed the 1976 Eurovision entry for Luxembourg “Chansons pour ceux qui s’aiment” by Jurgen Marcus . Jack died on 16th October 2025 , aged 85.

Bernd Meinunger ( Germany, Luxembourg, Switzerland, San Marino)

Probably the best known of all the Eurovision composers, largely for the fact that he wrote so many entries for different countries, sometimes jointly with Ralph Siegel . Bernd had an impressive record ! He co-wrote Germany’s entries in 1979 – 1980 – 1981 – 1982 – 1987 – 1988 – 1992 – 1994 – 1997 – 1999 – 2002 – 2003 – 2005. In 1982, he wrote Nicole’s winning song for Germany ” Ein Bisschen Frieden”( A little peace) . He also co-wrote the Swiss entries for 2005 and 2006 , the Luxembourg entries from 1980-1985 and wrote once for Montenegro in 2009 . He died on 17th October , aged 81.

Jean-Max Rivière ( Monaco)

Jean -Max Rivière wrote the lyrics for the entry for Monaco in 1966. Tereza Kesovija sang “Bien plus fort “. Jean-Max died on 15th November 2025 aged 88.

Jury Spokespeople

Colin Berry ( UK )

Colin Berry was a radio DJ, radio presenter and newsreader from the United Kingdom. He also became a well loved figure at the Eurovision Song Contest, acting as the UK spokes person during the voting, between , 1977 and 2002. Times when the voting was done by contacting each Country’s Jury by telephone then later being seen in person when satellite made it possible to see the Jury spokesperson.

Colin died on 16th April 2025, aged 79 years old.

We at Eurovision Ireland would like to send our deepest condolences to the families and friends of all those we have lost in 2025.

Let us know any thoughts you have about those we have lost from the Eurovision world this year . You can also follow us on  FACEBOOK, BLUESKY, TWITTER, YOUTUBE, INSTAGRAM and TIKTOK pages.

Eurovision Ireland would like to wish all our readers a very Happy and peaceful New Year . Please look out for all our coverage of the build up to the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest, in Vienna , including National final season, which will include , as always, our live Blogs of National Finals

Author: Sarah Rudman

Source : ESC Covers, Eurovoix

Visual Source : EurovisionTV . You Tube, ESC Live