On August 30, Basel was chosen as the host city for the 69th Eurovision Song Contest. It was a close race between it and Geneva, which was seen as the favorite because of its natural beauty, its relationship as the center of multiple international organizations (including the EBU!), and its role in culture and history. Ultimately, Basel edged out because of its accessibility to Germany and France.
The third-largest city in Switzerland, Basel sits along the Rhine River, and is known for its concentration of museums and multitude of green spaces. It’s also a sister city to Miami Beach and Shanghai, two fellow cities next to bodies of water. With its mix of creative and traditional, Basel is a vibrant city with a lot to showcase, both in tourism and the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest.
So, how should we expect a Swiss-hosted contest, knowing their two previous hostings?
Switching to the German-speaking canton of Switzerland, after going to Lugano and Lausanne, the 2025 will continue the Swiss slant towards embracing its multiple languages. The same could be said with the languages of the songs Switzerland sent in the two times they hosted; Lys Assia sung in German and French for her two entries in the 1956 contest, and Furbaz performed the only Romansh-language song at Eurovision in 1989.
In 2025, due to the language rule being dropped twenty-five years earlier, Switzerland’s mixing and matching of languages is expected to continue. Recently, they have performed their entries in either English or French (their last German-language song was Lass ihn in 1998, and their last Italian-language one was 2008’s Era Stupendo) , so incorporating languages in their songs is always welcome! Alternatively, the hosts could incorporate German along with the traditional English and French.
The 1989 contest also used a depiction of the Matterhorn as part of the stage production, showing the intimate link between Switzerland and the Alps. This can also be shown through the logo, which incorporates the Matterhorn with 1980s aesthetics.
To try and replicate these ideas 1:1 would eventually become derivative; the LED stages of 2025 could be shaped into mountains, rather than having a prop stand up from it. The 2024 stage showed how interesting shapes could be made and work with a large arena, so that trend would continue. Alternatively, the production could flip it and show that Switzerland is more than their mountains and lakes, and showcase what’s more from the country.
This would lean into the unexpected, which the contest would always need! In 1956, there was a hidden jury where the countries could vote for themselves; one Luxembourgish jury voted for Switzerland, which helped them win. The organizers also didn’t expect Eurovision to become the phenomenon it would become, with most of Europe competing and beyond.
Another source of chaos is in the interval acts! In 1989, Guy Tell, a stunt artist, performed a series of crossbow tricks as a reference to Swiss cultural icon William Tell. The climax featured several balloons, which Guy Tell fired an arrow at, before hoping that it would hit an apple. In the end, it missed by inches, which could’ve saved Guy Tell’s life!
Finally, the Swiss planning team could come up with surprise guests, some grounded in the Swiss canon, and others, being Celine Dion. Her performance of “Hymne à l’amour” stunned the world at this year’s Olympic opening ceremony; what’s to say she wouldn’t come back for an encore?