The City of Basel has unveiled the Eurovision 2025 ‘Arena Plus’ venue and concept.

The City of Basel is all set to use the St.Jakob- Park Stadium which can accomodate 20,000 spectators as a ‘Arena Plus’, where fans can watch the shows live, very much in the style of Eurovision 2016 when Stockholm housed public viewing at the Tele 2 Arena during the Grand Final.

The St.Jakob-Park Stadium is the largest soccer stadium in Switzerland, it can accomodate circa 20,000 spectators. The said stadium is adjacent to the 2025 Eurovision venue, the St.Jakobshalle.  St.Jakob-Park is the house of the Swiss soccer team FC Basel.

Basel plans to set up the ‘Arena Plus‘ at the St.Jakob- Park Stadium on Saturday 17 May for public viewing and live concerts with former Eurovision acts very much in the style of Tele 2 Arena in Stockholm during Eurovision 2016. The ‘Arena Plus’ will be integrated in the main show via live connections.

The City of Basel’s advice on hosting ESC 2025 and supplementary funding  document reads:

A strong argument in the application and in the assessment by the SRG was the idea of ​​setting up an “Arena Plus” in the adjacent St. Jakob-Park football stadium on the final day. On the one hand, this will create additional capacity in the show arena, given the limited number of seats for ESC standards, and on the other hand, the ESC in Switzerland can come up with an innovative concept.

The “Arena Plus” is intended to offer as many fans as possible the opportunity to experience the ESC up close. Regardless of the hall capacity, tickets for the main show in the hall are a rare, expensive commodity. Many fans from all over the world therefore travel without show tickets and want to be as close to the action as possible.

Many Basel residents will also not receive tickets for the shows and would like to be able to take part in “their” ESC. The “Arena Plus” is more than just a public viewing. 

The stadium is intended to have a festival atmosphere with family offerings and concerts by former ESC stars.

During the show, the “Arena Plus” will be integrated into the main show via mutual live connections.

The “Arena Plus” is organized under the responsibility of the host city. The costs, in the order of CHF 2.5 million, can probably be fully covered by ticket, catering and hospitality revenues. The “Arena Plus” should therefore be cost-neutral for the canton. FC Basel is supporting the project, and the stadium will be available for the UEFA Women’s EURO 2025 on time and in the required quality

The 2025 Eurovision Song Contest is scheduled on 13, 15 and 17 May at St.Jakobshalle in Basel, Switzerland.

Source: City of Basel
Photo credit: myswitzerland.com