Geneva vs Basel: what is known about potential Eurovision 2025 host cities

After a highly competitive bidding process between four potential cities, the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG has selected two cities that can potentially host Eurovision 2025. These are Geneva and Basel.

Interestingly, the city of Zurich, which was called the biggest favorite among the candidates, was excluded from the list. The same fate befell the Swiss city of Bern. The finalists were announced on SRG's official Instagram page.

According to the selection process, any host city must meet certain requirements: make a significant financial contribution to the event, have a venue that can accommodate about 10,000 spectators and an international airport with a large number of European flights; developed transport, as well as a large hotel fund with a capacity of at least 2,000 rooms. In addition, the host city needs infrastructure and places to host the press center, Delegation Bubble, Eurovision Village, EuroClub, and additional events, Wiwi Blogs writes.

Although the final decision will be made at the end of August 2024, we would like to take a look at the features of Geneva and Basel as potential hosts of Eurovision 2025.

Geneva

Geneva was undoubtedly a strong contender to host the Eurovision Song Contest and was one of the cities that showed interest in the show from the very beginning. The authorities proposed to hold the contest at the Palexpo International Exhibition and Convention Center, which can accommodate up to 15,000 spectators.

In addition, Geneva has an airport with numerous international flights, an efficient transportation system and provides the necessary hotel capacity. The local government has already promised to allocate about 30 million Swiss francs to organize the competition.

The city, mostly known as a business destination, also has a reputation for being a source of great cultural and culinary experiences. Geneva can easily be explored on foot over a long weekend, and there are many reasons why it should be on every visitor's itinerary to Switzerland. The country is famous for its chocolate, and Geneva lives up to this status. Thanks to the Choco Pass, customers with a sweet tooth can visit shops all over the city and sample handmade chocolates at their leisure.

No trip to Geneva would be complete without exploring the lake. Tourists can take a one-hour cruise and enjoy unrivaled views of Mont Blanc, monuments, famous villas, the United Nations, and the parks and gardens bordering the shore.

Basel

Basel, a powerful cultural center located along the French-German border, is a strong symbol of unity through music. The potential venue for the show is the St. Jakobshalle stadium, which has a capacity of approximately 12 thousand spectators. In addition to the arena, there are five other halls that are suitable for the press and other Eurovision events. It has an excellent transportation system. Basel is also home to the international airport EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg, and the city is only an hour's drive from Zurich Airport.

Basel, located on the Rhine River, is the third most populous city in Switzerland after Zurich and Geneva. Considered the cultural capital of the country, the city is home to 40 museums, including the Museum of Modern Art and the Kunstmuseum, the oldest public art collection in the world.

Among the city's historical landmarks are the large market square with the red sandstone town hall and the Romanesque-Gothic cathedral. During a walk through the old town, past small boutiques, antique bookstores, and shops of modern designers, you can get to the Läckerli Huus to try the traditional Basel honey cake.

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