The City of Bern and the City of Biel have officially confirmed that have applied to host the forthcoming 2025 Eurovision Song Contest at the Festhalle with the slogan United Bern inspired the Eurovision slogan United by Music.

Bern and Biel’s joint bid is supported by the Government Council of the Canton of Bern. Biel is Nemo’s hometown, whilst Bern is the majestic capital of Switzerland. Biel is set to contribute 1 million Swiss Francs whilst Bern is set to contribute 7 million Swiss Francs in order to host the competition.

The City of Bern, the City of Biel and Bernexpo have joined forces to submit the said bid. The City of Biel will host the Host City Handover Ceremony and organize the Public Viewing events during the live shows if it wins the bid. Whilst Bern will host the competition at the newlybuilt Festhalle (currently under construction) and other side events such as the Eurovision Village, Turquoise Carpet etc.

The City

The City of Bern and The City of Biel’s official press release reads:

On May 11, 2024, the Biel music and performance talent Nemo sent the whole of Switzerland into a frenzy of joy and rightly made them proud by winning the ESC in Malmö, Sweden. In 2025 – as the “law” of this world’s largest song competition stipulates – the ESC will take place in Siegerland as always. It is obvious that the city of Bern is interested in hosting an event of this size and with such charisma. Likewise, Biel, as Nemo’s home town, is presenting itself as a stage for the ESC. The fact is: the greater Bern area has many arguments. That is why the partners involved have decided to submit the application dossier – under the slogan BERN UNITED; based on the ESC slogan UNITED BY MUSIC.

There are many reasons for choosing Bern and Biel:

• In March 2025, the city of Bern will open the New Festhalle, a multifunctional hall that offers state-of-the-art and excellently suited infrastructure in terms of event technology, sustainability and safety. The city and canton of Bern have invested considerable resources in this generational project to bring such events to the region.
• Bern is a strong ambassador for the whole of Switzerland; as a capital with an attractive and friendly atmosphere on the one hand, as a broad and well-positioned tourist destination and as the largest Swiss industrial canton on the other.
• Thanks to its bilingualism and the presence of global watchmaking brands, Biel is a multicultural city where apparent opposites coexist. It is no coincidence that a personality like Nemo found the space to develop in Biel.
• Bern and Biel together ensure that the added value of this unique event remains largely in the country because they can receive and accommodate all delegations in their region.
• Bern is not only the political capital, but can also call itself the music capital of Switzerland. Furthermore, with its almost ninety embassies and receptions at the federal level, Bern is used to welcoming and hosting delegations from all countries and hosting events with high security requirements.

It is undisputed that the respective “host city” of the ESC and the host country enjoy an enormous media presence for weeks. Studies of previous ESC events show that the host city generates a high level of added value from this event. But for Bern’s mayor Alec von Graffenried, this is not the most important argument for the application: “Gigantism suits neither Bern nor Biel. Our version of the ESC would be a Bernese-resized but all the more refined event in which quality, heart, diversity and sustainability are clearly in the foreground.” Biel’s mayor Erich Fehr also emphasizes: “As the capital of bilingualism, Biel fundamentally stands for diversity, tolerance and a remarkable cosmopolitanism. This is another reason why we can identify with the basic idea of ​​the ESC.”

Bern and Biel take numerous measures

The application dossier for the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and the SRG was prepared over the last four weeks in intensive work by representatives of the cities and BERNEXPO in a level of detail that meets all the strict criteria for hosting an ESC in terms of accommodation, logistics, space, technology, traffic and transport, sustainability and security.

The two cities are providing the necessary financial resources to hold the ESC in Bern and Biel. Biel is contributing 1 million francs, the city of Bern 7 million francs. BERNEXPO and private organizers are making a substantial contribution through synergies. The government council is requesting a corresponding loan from the Grand Council in order to meet the very high security requirements of this major event and to contribute to the planning, organization and implementation of the event. It will approve the loan for parliament at its meeting on July 3, 2024. The contributions will still have to be approved by the two city parliaments and the Grand Council. The government council expects a financial contribution from the federal government to ensure the high security standards.

Preliminary decisions have already been made regarding some key points surrounding the major event: The baton handover event and the public viewing formats “HOME-TOWN” (for Nemo’s hometown) are planned to take place in Biel. The traditional reception and opening ceremony “Turquoise Carpet” will take place in Bern – from Helvetiaplatz over the Kirchenfeldbrücke to the Kulturcasino. The Bundesplatz will be a large public viewing zone during the final week. The show will be produced in the Festhalle. The Eurovision Village, where fans and delegations will meet, and the media and accreditation center will be set up on the festival perimeter around the Neue Festhalle, but also partly in tents that can be taken over from the Bern Spring Fair BEA, which takes place beforehand, and can be reused in a sustainable manner.

Tom Winter, CEO of BERNEXPO, is convinced: “We have been very detailed in our planning and can guarantee the decision-making body an ESC version that will be hard to beat in terms of diversity, color and charm – with the Festhalle as a beacon.” 

Decision will be made at the end of August

The twin cities of Bern and Biel, the government council and BERNEXPO are excited about the prospect of possibly being able to welcome the ESC to the Bern/Biel region. In the final phase of the application, they will do everything necessary to win the bid. The schedule envisages that the EBU and SRG will examine the submitted dossiers in July and August, arrange visits and inspections and announce the decision on the venue for the ESC 2025 by the end of August. 

Source: Stadt Biel
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