Eurovision Song Contest 2025: The two finalist cities are revealed
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Bern (ots)
Basel and Geneva are the two cities that have come out on top in SRG'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.
Interested cities had until the end of June to submit their bids to SRG 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 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.
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 EUR 62 million 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.
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Contact:
SRG SSR Press Office
Edi Estermann
medienstelle.srg@srgssr.ch / Tel. +41 (0)58 136 21 21