Basel, Switzerland's third biggest city, has been picked to host Eurovision 2025.
ADVERTISEMENTBasel in Switzerland will be the next host of the Eurovision Song Contest, the competition’s organisers have announced today.
Following Swiss singer Nemo’s victory in Malmö at this year’s competition in Sweden with their song ‘The Code’, the mountainous nation took over hosting duties for 2025.
It’s the third time that Switzerland have won the competition, after Lys Assia in 1956 and Céline Dion in 1988.
Host Broadcaster SRG SSR and the EBU will host the 69th Eurovision Song Contest in May 2025.
The competition will be held in the St. Jacobshalle, an arena in Münchenstein, just outside of the city of Basel. The arena is typically used for sports and concerts and has a capacity of 12,400 following renovations in 2018.
Semi-finals will be held on Tuesday 13 May and Thursday 15 May with the grand final taking place on Saturday 17 May.
“The EBU is thrilled that Basel has been selected as the Host City for the Eurovision Song Contest 2025. The Contest was born in Switzerland in Lugano back in 1956 and it’s great to be bringing it back to its birthplace almost 70 years later,” said Martin Österdahl, Executive Supervisor of the Eurovision Song Contest.
“Basel's strategic location at the crossroads of Europe makes it the ideal setting for an event that celebrates the power of music to connect people across borders,” Österdahl continued. “Following Contests in the Italian and French speaking parts of the country in 1956 and 1989 we’re also excited to bring the Eurovision Song Contest to German Switzerland for the very first time.”
Switzerland hosted the first ever Eurovision Song Contest in 1956 in Lugano. They won the inaugural competition with the song ‘Refrain’ performed by Lys Assia.
The next time Switzerland won was in 1988 when the competition was held in Dublin, Ireland. Canadian singer Céline Dion was victorious with the song ‘Ne partez pas sans moi’. Following Dion’s win, Switzerland hosted the competition in 1989 in Lausanne.
This year, Switzerland won for the third time with Nemo’s impressive vocal and acrobatic performance of the song ‘The Code’. Nemo made history as the first non-binary performer to represent Switzerland and the first to win the competition.
Conradin Cramer, President of the Government of Basel said: “It is a great honour for Basel to be able to host the world's biggest live music event! We are looking forward to this fantastic opportunity to present Basel to the world as a cosmopolitan city of culture in the heart of Europe. As an open city in the border triangle of Germany, France and Switzerland, we overcome borders of all kinds every day. This fits in perfectly with the Eurovision Song Contest.”
“We are already looking forward to welcoming our guests from all over Europe: welcome to Basel!,” Cramer added.
Tickets are expected to go on sale for 9 shows, including dress rehearsals, in the coming months.
