Making Eurovision Accessible

Eurovision has taken a big step toward including the Deaf community. This year, all 37 competing songs were translated into Swiss Sign Language for the first time. Deaf signers performed the translations. The videos were shared with broadcasters across Europe, allowing Deaf audiences in many countries to watch and enjoy the contest. This marked an important moment for Deaf representation and accessibility. The sign language videos were created by Swiss TXT. The company also provided subtitles and audio descriptions, making Eurovision more accessible for Deaf, hard-of-hearing, and visually impaired viewers. Switzerland hosted Eurovision 2025, but sharing the videos made them available across Europe. The two semi-finals and the final were interpreted in all three Swiss sign languages: Swiss German Sign Language (DSGS), French Sign Language (LSF), and Italian Sign Language (LIS). The songs were also translated into International Sign. The Deaf interpreters focused on showing the emotion, rhythm, and feeling of each song. They described their work as “visual poetry.” Deaf viewers in Switzerland praised the effort and the high quality of the signing. They said they understood how much work it took to include so many sign languages and appreciated Eurovision’s commitment to accessibility. Many hearing viewers enjoyed the performances as well. Some commented that sign language interpretations looked fun and made them want to learn sign language. Others joked that the interpreters deserved more votes than the singers. Several interpreters even became viral online. Both Deaf and hearing audiences are now calling for more inclusion like this in future Eurovision contests.