It is day 5 at the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest media centre in Basel, Switzerland. Tonight fans from Europe, Australia and beyond will discover what the Swiss have organised for the second semi final live from St. Jakobshalle. But before, the Creative Art and Production Director Artur Deyneuve took some time to meet with the press and talk about this year’s production.
As the 69th Eurovision Song Contest unfolds, more and more details about its production are revealed to the audience. The Swiss made a very strong impression with the first semi final, with the interval act Made in Switzerland getting stuck in the minds of many from the first listen. And do you want to succeed? Just add a dash of Petra Mede and fans will love it.
But how has host broadcaster SRG SSR come up with the show? According to Artur Deyneuve it all started wth the vistion Welcome home. It was about bringing the mission and vision of this year’s contest and add the Swissness into it. The visual identity was developed to make sure that it could relate to everyone, from all ages. The effort was also to bring the dynamism and energy of Eurovision into the design.
Moritz Stadler, Executive Producer of this year’s Eurovision, declared about the choice of the Creative Art and Production Director:
At the very beginning, for us it came quite clear that since we had a mission and a vision for this 2025 experience, we needed the right wrapping. This is why we looked for an art director which could make this true. We were extremeley proud to have Artur on board. He said quite immediately yes. What turned out to be extremely good was that he was not from Switzerland. He is from Madeira, has lived in and discovered Switzerland for a few years. Since the Eurovision Song Contest is about the world visiting the country, there was no better person that someone who had done it himself.
The branding was very important. While the official slogan of the contest is United by music, the Swiss wanted to bring their own Welcome home, to make everyone feel home while at the contest. Eurovision unites millions of people around the world. and it is all about the music. It is something that should be embraced.
SRG SSR has received a brand from the EBU and will give it back after the contest. Moritz Stadler declared that they have a responsibility to sustain a trandition. SRG being a founding member of the EBU, they wanted to contribute from the beginning to the improvement of the contest. They want to bring their little brick in the wall of the Eurovision Song Contest.
On sustainability
The production team is very proud with the sustainability of this year’s show, to the point that it received the Green Motion Label for green productions. Moritz Stadler highlighted the fact that 80% of the costumes on stage are from recycled material. In recent years sustainability was seen as a constraint, whereas this year we have put it as an objective. Appraisals were given to the city of Basel for its excellent public transport system, which meant that onsite staff transport could happen in a sustainable fashion.
On Eurovision’s legacy in media production
The Eurovision Song Contest must remain a media production which bring the state of the art to the television screens. Damaris Reist from the team production, said that from a production point of view, the Eurovision Song Contest is an event that brings the entire industry forward. there is lots of innovation and new technologies in it.
A lot of efforts were put since the very beginning in the legacy that this event can have in the media landscape production in Switzerland. According to Moritz Stadler, the team wanted to go the extra mile since the very beginning. Eurovision has to be an experience for everyone. and everyone means everonye. In the village, the arena plus, the arena, all audiences have full access to Eurovision. The production team has asked universities how to do this, they have looked into startup companies. They have reached out to the services and experiences currently being tested to bring new technologies forward.
ESCToday.com already covered the inclusivity and accessibility of this year’s contest.
