Posts

Christina Kitsos: The Greek mayor of the city is ready to host Eurovision in Geneva!

/0 Comments/in , /by

She is the first Greek woman elected mayor in Switzerland and in fact in one of its largest cities, Geneva. Her name is Christina Kitsos who from June 1, 2024 is the mayor of the city and the one who will make every effort to bring the competition in May 2025 to Geneva.

Will a Greek woman welcome us in Switzerland in 2025?

Christina Kitsos is a child of Greeks and a second generation immigrant. She has been involved in politics since she was very young, in the Socialist Party of Switzerland, passing through all the offices of the local government. Christina’s rise to mayor comes in recognition of her dedication to public service and commitment to addressing key issues facing the city.

The office of mayor of Geneva (maire de Genève) rotates annually among the five members of the council, the city’s executive government. The term of Christina Kitsos started on June 1, 2024 and ends on May 31, 2025. In other words, she will be the one who will conduct the entire process for claiming the organization of Eurovision 2025 in Geneva, but she will also be the mayor of the city, when the 69th Eurovision Song Contest takes place next year.

I was lucky enough to know Christina since I was an elected municipal councilor and we participated together in a conference of young elected officials from all over Europe. I know how much she loves and is connected to Greece and her Greek origins (her father is from Thessaloniki) and I think it would be a wonderful opportunity to go to a city that hosts Eurovision and whose mayor is a young woman , who is also Greek.

Eurovision is a great opportunity to promote Geneva to the world, promoting music as a global language that brings countries together, changes mindsets and transforms perspectives.

Christina Kitsos

Geneva or Zurich?

The municipality, the canton of Geneva and the Board of Directors of Palexpo, the venue that will host the contest if the city wins the event, have joined forces in an effort to bring Eurovision 2025 to Geneva.

After St. Gallen‘s withdrawal from the title race, the only opponent is Zurich, who, according to the bookmakers, is the favorite. Zurich has not yet officially announced that it is going to submit a candidacy, since the city’s municipal council is going to decide on this very soon.

Interested cities have until June 30 to apply, while the decision on which city will host Eurovision 2025 is expected to be announced in August.

Watch Christina Kitsos’s last interview two months ago:

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the updates!

Eurovision Song Contest 2025: Reto Peritz and Moritz Stadler will be the Executive Producers!

/0 Comments/in , , , /by

The SRG Executive Board has appointed Reto Peritz from SRF and Moritz Stadler from RTS as co-executive producers for the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) to be held in Switzerland. Both will continue in their current roles but will be substituted for a year to focus on the contest.

Organizing the Eurovision Song Contest in May 2025 in Switzerland is a monumental task. Responding to the ESC Task Force’s request, the SRG Executive Board has selected the individuals who will assume overall responsibility for the world’s largest music event. The role of executive producer will be jointly held by Reto Peritz, 51, currently the Director of Entertainment at SRF, and Moritz Stadler, 38, currently the Head of Operations at RTS.

The Executive Board believes these two media managers are ideally suited for the job, bringing extensive experience with the ESC. Reto Peritz has previously served as the Head of the Swiss Delegation and was an elected member of the ESC Reference Group from 2019 to 2021. Moritz Stadler is a long-time employee of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU).

While retaining their current roles within their respective business units, Peritz and Stadler will gradually hand over their ongoing projects until June 2025. This transition will allow them to dedicate their efforts entirely to the organization of the ESC 2025.

 

Δείτε αυτή τη δημοσίευση στο Instagram.

 

Η δημοσίευση κοινοποιήθηκε από το χρήστη SRG SSR (@srg.ssr)

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the latest updates regarding Eurovision 2025!

Source: SRG-SSR

Eurovision 2025: Zurich’s decision on bidding for the upcoming contest expected in June!

/0 Comments/in , , /by

As we have previously informed you, Zurich has confirmed to the Swiss media that is thinking about submitting a bid to host the Eurovision Song Contest in 2025.

Hence, today the Zurich City Council declared that it will make a decision by the end of June regarding whether or not to submit a bid to host Eurovision 2025.

Before making a decision on whether to submit a bid or not, the City Council stated that they need further details on what needed to host the event. As a result, SRG SSR, the host of the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest, will soon provide background information on the contest’s planning. The Zurich City Council will decide whether or not to participate by the end of June, having received and taken into account information regarding the event’s key dates.

So far, four Swiss cities have expressed their interest in hosting:

  • Basel
  • Geneva
  • St. Gallen
  • Zurich

The 69th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest will be held in Switzerland, following Nemo’s win in Malmö with “The Code“.

Stay tuned to EurovisionFun for all the news!

Source: Tagesanzeiger

Eurovision 2025: Grand Final to be held on May 10?

/0 Comments/in , , /by

According to Swiss media reports, the most likely date for the Grand Final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 is  May 10.

Local Swiss media reported that the CEO of the Hallenstadion in Zurich, a venue that could host the competition next May, said that the unofficial date for the final is May 10. It is said that the venue has been told by SRG SRR that it should be free for 6-8 weeks from early April to mid-May. In particular Philipp Musshafen, CEO of Hallenstadion, reported:

“The ESC is the biggest music event in the world. 180 million spectators! That would be invaluable advertising for Zurich, but also for the Hallenstadion. We were told to reserve six to eight weeks from around the beginning of April to mid-May 2025. With a possible, still unofficial, date for the final on May 10th.”

In recent years, the competition has been hosted in the middle weeks of May and the dates of May 6, 8 and 10 would fit this trend. The only major event around these dates that can “conflict” with Eurovision is the UEFA Europa League semi-final taking place on 8 May.

The dates 13, 15 and 17 May would both be free of major ‘clashes’ with other major pan-European events and still be in ‘mid-May 2025’. At present, no dates have been officially announced by the EBU or the broadcaster.

Eurovision 2025

The Eurovision 2025 song contest will be held in Switzerland following Nemo’s win with “The Code”. Switzerland won the Eurovision Song Contest for the third time, having won the 1956 and 1988 editions. Discussions will be held in the coming weeks with potential host cities across Switzerland.

Source: escxtra

Stay tuned on Eurovisionfun for all the news regarding the Eurovision Song Contest 2025, in Switzerland!

Eurovision 2025: Fribourg will check hosting bid!

/1 Comment/in , , /by

Fribourg could join the list of candidate cities to host the Eurovision Song Contest 2025.

The preliminary examination has just started as confirmed by the CEO of HC Fribourg-Gottéronw, a renowned ice hockey club in Fribourg, John Gobbi.  At the moment there is no formal host bid.  However, the discussions are going on and the city is debating whether or not Fribourg may host Eurovision in 2025.

If Fribourg decides to bid, the most likely scenario is that they offer the BCF Arena, home of the HC Fribourg-Gottéron team to host the event which could hold up to 9,000 spectators which is below the requirements to host the event.  However, one of the problems to be selected is the size of the arena and potential clashes with ice hockey matches.

We are also analysing if the ice rink could meet the size requirements. It is certainly big but there are bigger arenas in Switzerland.

Furthermore, the local government of Fribourg has confirmed its intent to examine whether they are able to place a bid.  Before making that move they will assess if they can meet the accommodation and arena requirements.

Four Swizz cities have already confirmed their intent to become the host city of Eurovision 2025. They are:

  • Basel
  • Geneva
  • St. Gallen
  • Zurich

Source: Frapp

Stay tuned at EurovisionFun for more news about the Eurovision Song Contest 2025!

Follow us on all social media, so you do not miss any news about the biggest music festival in Europe:

Eurovision 2025: Lugano and Lausanne will not bid to host Eurovision!

/0 Comments/in , , /by

Lugano was the host city of the very first Eurovision Song Contest in 1956.  Unfortunately for fans who may wish to celebrate the 69th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest in the city where all began, the city has already ruled out a potential candidacy.

According to the Deputy mayor of Lugano, the city does not have suitable venues to host the event:

“Unfortunately, we don’t have venues capable of hosting up to 15,000 spectators. There is the LAC, the Palazzo dei Congressi, the Cornèr Arena, the future sports hall, and even the conference centre, but which will never reach the required numbers.  It is therefore a shame because surely an event with such resonance would have had a great impact, also in terms of visibility, for our canton. But unfortunately, I think it will be difficult.”

Moreover, Lausanne has also ruled out the possibility of hosting Eurovision.  Lausanne hosted the Eurovision Song Contest in 1989 after Celine Dion gave Switzerland their second victory in the contest.  According to the Mayor of Lausanne, Grégoire Junod all potential venues to host the event are already scheduled because the hockey season conflicts with Eurovision:

he only place that could be suitable in terms of gauge would be the Vaudoise Arena, but we are already at the limit of what is required in terms of capacity (…) he main obstacle is the calendar. The venue must be available several weeks before the start of the event and this is not possible due to the hockey season.

Zurich enters the race

The city of Zurich is studying a potential bid to host Eurovision in 2025.  If the city finally decides to submit a formal bid, it will join the cities of Geneva, Basel, and St. Gallen which have already expressed their intention to become the 2025 host city.

According to Le Temps, the city held a meeting to examine the feasibility of their candidature.  The bid will be studied with “high priority” according to a spokesperson of the city.

Source: RCI│24 Heures │Le Temps

Stay tuned at EurovisionFun for more news about the Eurovision Song Contest 2025!

Follow us on all social media, so you do not miss any news about the biggest music festival in Europe:

Geneva interested to host Eurovision 2025!

/0 Comments/in , , /by

We are just a few hours away from Nemo’s victory at the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 and we have the first bid to host Eurovision 2025.

The city of Geneva has already signaled their interest to host the Eurovision Song Contest 2025.

According to RTS, Geneva is taking serious steps to be the 2025 host city. In collaboration with the city of Geneva, Palexpo Geneva applied with the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG SSR).

The Palexpo Congress and Exposition Centre has the capacity to be the arena for Eurovision 2025.  With nearly 32,000 m2, it can accommodate around 15,000 spectators.  Palexpo started working on their application for weeks together with the local government in Geneva in case of a Swizz victory.

If Geneva ends up hosting the event, to accommodate the competition, Palexpo Geneva will make all three of its convention centers available.

Today an extraordinary meeting of SRG SSR board will take place to discuss future plans for Eurovision 2025.  Furthermore, a task force will start working on Monday.

 

Stay tuned at EurovisionFun for more news about the Eurovision Song Contest 2025!

Follow us on all social media, so you do not miss any news about the biggest music festival in Europe: