Eurovision 2025 to take place in Basel or Geneva

The two cities have beaten Zurich and Bern onto the shortlist to host the Eurovision Song Contest in May 2025, the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC) said on Friday. The two finalists were chosen on the basis of criteria such as the venue concept, public transport connections, sustainability, hotel capacity, security and waste disposal concepts, investment, experience with large-scale events, support and motivation, said the SBC (which is swissinfo.ch’s parent company). Bids by Zurich and Bern/Biel, who had also campaigned to become the host city, were thus ruled out. + Read more: how direct democracy got involved in the Swiss Eurovision planning Authorities in Geneva have pledged some CHF30 million ($33.8 million) to organise the contest, which would be held at the Palexpo centre. In Basel, no financial figures have yet been released, although authorities say Eurovision would be held at the city’s St-Jacques Hall. While the investment in hosting Eurovision is substantial, the ...