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Basel chosen to host Eurovision Song Contest 2025

August 30, 2024

The Swiss city of Basel will host next year's Eurovision Song Contest from May 13 to 17, according to organizers. The event will take place in the St. Jakobshalle, which can accommodate 12,000 people.

https://p.dw.com/p/4k5oG
The ESC venues in Basel: The St. Jakobshalle, right, and the St. Jakob-Park football stadium, left
The St. Jakobshalle, right, will host the Eurovision Song Contest which would be also broadcast at the St. Jakob-Park football stadium, leftImage: Georgios Kefalas/KEYSTONE/picture alliance

Basel, a Swiss city bordering Germany and France, will host next year's Eurovision Song Contest, public broadcaster SSR-SRG announced on Friday.

The final of the event, which attracted 163 million viewers worldwide this year, will take place on Saturday, May 17.

"Congratulations to Basel," said Reto Peritz and Moritz Stader, the co-executive producers of the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC), in a statement. "We look forward to working with you to make the ESC an unforgettable experience for everyone."

The event will take place in the St. Jakobshalle, which is known for tennis tournaments and other sporting events. It can accommodate 12,000 people.

The show will also be broadcast at the nearby St. Jakob-Park football stadium, which has a capacity of 20,000.

Why was Basel chosen to host the Eurovision Song Contest?

The predominantly German-speaking city on the Rhine was chosen over Geneva. 

According to SSR-SRG, the choice of Basel and the St. Jakobshalle was based on criteria such as the suitability of the hall to host the event, sustainability and security, available funding and "creative ideas for side events."

Switzerland won the right to host the annual song contest, which attracts hundreds of millions of viewers worldwide, after Swiss singer Nemo won the 68th edition of the event in Malmo, Sweden.

Nemo was the first Swiss winner since 1988, when Canada's Celine Dion competed under the Swiss flag.

Switzerland also hosted and won the first edition of the Eurovision Song Contest in the southern city of Lugano in 1956.

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dh/rc (AP, AFP, dpa, Reuters)