Switzerland will host the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest. But which city in the Helvetic Confederation will welcome the thousands of artists, media people and fans? Geneva, Sankt Gallen, Basel and Fribourg have already expressed their interest. Other obvious options are Zurich and Bern. And why not Lausanne? Swiss broadcaster Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen (SRF) also sees Biel/Bienne and Lucerne as viable options. Combined, Danny and I have visited almost all of them. So let us introduce them. 

Basel and Geneva are the two cities that have come out on top in SRG SSR‘s ongoing selection process. One of these two cities will host the Eurovision Song Contest in Switzerland in May 2025. The final decision will be made in late August, a press release says.

Interested cities had until the end of June to submit their bids to SRG SSR 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 SSR 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. 

Boost

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 62 million euros 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 press release concludes.

Eurovision Song Contest 2025 in Switzerland

• SWITZERLAND | Introducing Geneva.
• SWITZERLAND | Introducing Basel.
• SWITZERLAND | Introducing Sankt Gallen.
• SWITZERLAND | Introducing Bern.
• SWITZERLAND | Introducing Zurich.
• SWITZERLAND | Introducing Lucerne.
• SWITZERLAND | Introducing Lausanne.
• SWITZERLAND | Biel/Bienne, Lugano and Fribourg named as potential 2025 Eurovision Contest host cities.