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Switzerland: Four cities in the running for Eurovision 2025!

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The deadline for interested cities to submit bids to host Eurovision 2025 draws near, as announced by Swiss public television. According to the website of the Swiss public television, Zürich, Geneva, Basel, and Bern are the four cities competing for the hosting of the 69th Eurovision Song Contest.

The Swiss public television provides us with information regarding the four potential host cities, while presenting their pros and cons.

Bern

The local cantonal government has finally supported the idea of hosting Eurovision 2025 in Bern, the nation’s capital and fourth most populous city, despite Bern’s initial hesitation to submit a bid. For this reason, the local government is negotiating a 7 million euro grant. The proposed venue, Bernexpo, has 9,000 seats, but it won’t be ready until April 2025. A small airport and a limited availability of accommodation is indeed a challenge, though.

Basel

Basel appears to have high expectations for winning the race for the hosting of the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest. With a capacity of 12,000 spectators, St. Jakobshalle is its candidacy. Basel has experience with these kinds of events, holding a vibrant festival called Art Week each year.

Geneva

For many, the city that serves as the EBU’s headquarters is ideal. Cheap accommodation is guaranteed by its proximity to the French border, and tourists can quickly and easily travel there every day by bus and train. All of the main European destinations are connected to the city’s international airport. Palexpo, which has a 15,000 seat capacity, is the suggested location. The only drawback to Geneva’s candidacy is its lack of vibrant nightlife.

Zürich

The largest city in Switzerland is also the clear favorite to host Eurovision 2025. The city is regarded as the heart of the country’s LGBTQ+ community, and it has unlimited options for accommodation and a major airport. There are two potential venues: the Hallenstadion (15,000 seats) and the Swiss Life Arena (12,000 seats).

The decision is expected to be made in late August.

Stay tuned to EurovisionFun for all the news!

Source: SRF

Eurovision 2025: Zürich Municipal Council passes motions for the sumbition of hosting bid!

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The Municipal Council of Zürich passed two motions in favour of the sumbition of a bid for the hosting of the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest!

On Wednesday 12th of June, the Municipal Council of Zürich passed two motions sumbitted by the Social Democratic Party of Switzerland (Sozialdemokratische Partei der Schweiz– SP) and the Green Liberal Party of Switzerland (Grünliberale Partei der Schweiz – GLP) in favour of hosting the Eurovision Song Contest 2025. In their proposals both parties pointed out the positive financial effect as well as the positive impact on the image and the promotion of the city due to Eurovision.

Marco Denoth, a member of the council representing SP, stated:

“We want to show that the Council is behind the event.”

On the other hand the Swiss People’s Party opposed the two motions as it considers Eurovision as a chauvinistic event.

These two motions are about to be submitted to the City Council of Zürich, which will decide if the two motions are adopted. The city mayor Corine Mauch and the council are said to be in favour of hosting Eurovision 2025. If the two motions are adopted, Zürich will be able to officialy submit an official hosting bid.

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

Source: 20min.ch

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

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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 2025: Zürich is the favourite city to host, according to the betting odds!

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Even though the city of Zürich, has not yet confirmed that it will claim the hosting of Eurovision 2025, it is already the favourite of the betting companies, to win this process and host next year’s contest.

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

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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: Fribourg will check hosting bid!

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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!

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

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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

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