(Bloomberg) -- The Swiss city of Basel will host next year’s Eurovision Song Contest, a show that regularly attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors and TV viewership far above that of the Super Bowl in the US.
Basel, home to pharmaceutical giants Novartis AG and Roche Holding AG, beat Geneva in the final round of the selection process by Swiss broadcaster SRG SSR, while Zurich and the capital Bern were rejected in earlier rounds. Switzerland has the right to host the competition after singer Nemo won the 2024 edition in Malmoe, Sweden.
The winning proposal includes plans for events around the city to complement the televised shows on May 13, 15 and 17. The canton of Basel plans to spend some 34.9 million Swiss francs ($41.1 million) for the event, which should be amply covered by an expected extra revenue of around 60 million francs.
The budget has not yet been approved by the parliament of the canton, but a decision is expected in September. Even after that, Swiss people could call for a referendum to vote against the budget for the event.
Basel, a city of some 200,000 inhabitants, is Switzerland’s third largest and sits on the river Rhine close to the German and French borders.
©2024 Bloomberg L.P.
