The Eurovision Song Contest 2025 is set to take place in Basel, Switzerland.
This decision was confirmed by the Swiss broadcaster SRG SSR on Thursday evening, with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) confirming it a day later, on Friday.
Earlier this year on 11 May, Switzerland’s Nemo clinched victory at the Eurovision Contest in Malmö, Sweden, with The Code. Consequently, Basel is now prepping to host the esteemed event’s 69th event, narrowly beating Geneva in the final stage of selection.
Estimated to draw in 180 million viewers, the contest’s final will occur on Saturday 17 May 2025 at the St. Jakobshalle indoor arena in Basel. Semi-finals are slotted for 13 and 15 of May.
Switzerland has stepped up as contest-host twice before; first for the inaugural event in 1956 in Lugano, and later, in 1989, in Lausanne.
"The contest returning to its birthplace, almost 70 years later, is tremendous. Basel’s unique mixing of tradition and innovation expresses the spirit of the event," Martin Österdahl, executive supervisor of the song contest, commented.
The aim of the Swiss broadcasting corporation, SRG SSR, is not only to create a significant celebration in Basel, but to also forge a positive event underpinned by notions of diversity, creativity and openness, that connects audiences across Switzerland and beyond. A detailed list of countries taking part in the 2025 edition is yet to be announced.
Organisers will be hoping to improve some aspects of the competition after the events from this year. The EBU faced harsh criticisms after the 2024 edition was mired by political controversies, including the banning an EU flag from the venue and the now-dropped assault investigation into the Dutch contest Joost Klein, who was excluded before the final.
