Swiss choose Basel as host city for 2025 Eurovision Song Contest

Next year's Eurovision Song Contest will be held in the Swiss city of Basel, public broadcaster SRG said on Friday, setting it up for an economic boost from the hundreds of thousands of fans expected to flock to its restaurants, hotels and bars.

The final of the event, which was watched by 163 million viewers around the world this year, will take place on May 17. Authorities have said it will be held at Basel's St Jakobshalle, which can accommodate 12,000 Eurovision fans.

The government said it would submit a funding proposal to the city's parliament for 34.9 million Swiss francs ($41.2 million) to pay for the event.

While the costs of hosting are substantial, when the contest was held in Liverpool in 2023 the local economy was boosted by nearly 55 million pounds ($72.5 million), with restaurants, accommodation providers, shops, bars and transport networks all benefiting, according to Liverpool City Region.

In total, 473,000 people attended Eurovision events in the city, with another 306,000 visiting to take part in the celebrations.

Basel beat competition from Geneva to host the May 2025 event, which Switzerland will host after singer Nemo won this year's competition in Malmo, Sweden.

The two Swiss cities were the final candidates chosen according to criteria that included transport connections, hotel capacity and security.

Other factors included available venues, sustainability and how the city disposes of waste, as well as experience with large scale events.

"Congratulations to Basel," said Reto Peritz and Moritz Stader, the co-executive producers of the Eurovision Song Contest, in a statement.

"We look forward to working with you to make the ESC an unforgettable experience for everyone."

In addition to Geneva, earlier unsuccessful applications to host the event came from Zurich and jointly from Bern and Nemo's hometown Biel.

"The ESC 2025 offers Basel the chance to reach an audience of millions and to inspire them with the city's qualities," the governing council of Basel said.

"Basel will be able to present itself to a global audience as a European, cosmopolitan city of culture and as an attractive and modern venue."

($1 = 0.8481 Swiss francs)

($1 = 0.7584 pounds)