SSG-SSR, the  Swiss national broadcaster has announced the shortlisted candidate Eurovision 2025 host cities. 

Geneva and Basel have been shortlisted to host the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest in Switzerland next year. The special Eurovision 2025 Steering Committee convened yesterday and shortlisted the potential ESC 2025 host cities from four to two.

The 2025 Eurovision Committee consists of the following members.

• Gilles Marchand (SRG Director General)
• Nathalie Wappler (SRF Director)
• Mario Timbal ( RSI Director)
• Beat Grossenbacher  ( SRG Chief Financial Officer)
• Bakel Walden (SRG Director of Development & Services /Eurovision Reference Group Chairman)

Then there were two

Four cities applied to host the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest in Switzerland: Geneva, Zurich, Basel and Bern (with Biel). Only two of them have made it to the next face of the host city race:

• Geneva is vying to host the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest at the Palexpo.
• Basel is vying to host the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest at the St.Jakobshalle

SRG’s official press release reads:

Interested cities had until the end of June to submit their bids to SRG on the basis of an extensive catalogue of requirements. Key to the assessment of the bids submitted were criteria such as arena concept, public transport links, sustainability, available hotel accommodation, security and waste disposal concepts, investment, event experience, and support and motivation from the city as a whole, as well as many other factors.  

Meticulous assessment of the bids submitted 

The bids submitted by the cities Basel, Geneva, Zurich and Berne/Biel have been carefully reviewed by an ESC core team working group over the last few weeks and further expanded on in on-site meetings with delegations from the cities. The assessment comprised quantitative and qualitative criteria, as well as applicant cities’ commitment and creative ideas, with the aim of making the ESC 2025 an event to remember. 

The careful assessment of the submitted bids was supervised by the accounting and consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). The ESC 2025 Steering Committee headed up by SRG Director General Gilles Marchand followed the recommendation of the core team and yesterday opted for the two city bids that performed best and will now be further consolidated: Basel and Geneva. 

Major investment – significant economic boost

Reto Peritz and Moritz Stadler, co-executive producers of the ESC 2025, informed the cities personally about the interim decision and the next stage in the process for the two finalist cities Basel and Geneva. The project team remains in contact with Zurich and Berne/Biel and will be glad to assist them with any planned Eurovision events such as public viewings. 

Applying to host the Eurovision Song Contest is a major investment for the cities – but promises to deliver an economic boost to the hospitality industry, tourism and the local economy more broadly.  According to a study by the University of Liverpool, hosting the Eurovision Song Contest in 2023 delivered an economic boost worth EUR 62 million to the city. In May 2023, 175,000 hotel rooms in Liverpool were sold and 600 jobs were created over the year.  

First and foremost, however, the Eurovision Song Contest in May 2025 is not only meant to be a major celebration for the host city, but also an event celebrating diversity, music and culture that brings people together and promotes a feeling of community and togetherness. 

The 2025 Eurovision host city is expected to be unveiled by late August. Switzerland will be hosting the Eurovision Song Contest for the third time in the history of the competition, having already hosted the contest in 1956 and 1989.

Source: SRG-SSR
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