Task force begins preparations for ESC 2025 in Switzerland
Published: Sunday, May 12th 2024, 10:00
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Following Nemo's victory at the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC), a task force of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG) will begin preparations on Monday to host the singing competition in Switzerland. Interested cities can apply for the financially attractive event following the call for entries.
SRG will start planning on Monday with a task force and will gradually provide information on how to proceed, Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen (SRF) announced on Sunday. An extraordinary meeting of the SRG management will be held on Sunday.
Interested cities can apply to host the event after the call for tenders. SRG then decides together with SRF as host and the organizer, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU).
Huge added value
According to SRG spokesperson Edi Estermann, there are many requirements that interested cities must fulfill. Among other things, a large and suitable hall is needed, and the city must also be able to provide space for all participants and fans.
The added value for the region and the city concerned is immense, said the SRG spokesperson. It is now a gigantic community that arrives and fuels the gastronomy and hotel industry. It is not yet possible to say anything about the costs in Switzerland, he said.
Cities such as Zurich, Bern, Geneva or Basel could be considered for hosting the event. Yves Schifferle, Head of Show at SRF, brought these locations with large halls and good infrastructure into play at the beginning of April. The corresponding costs would be incurred by SRG, but also by the host city; the participating countries would also have to contribute. Schifferle did not say how high the costs would be, but added that talks had been held with other countries.
Costs between 30 and 40 million francs
The EBU, as the organizer, also kept a low profile when it came to figures. According to experts, the cost of staging the ESC 2023 in Liverpool was between 27 and 36 million pounds (30 to 40 million Swiss francs), as the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung wrote on Thursday. The sum was split between the city, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), the government and the other participating countries. Nevertheless, the ESC could be financially worthwhile for the respective host city, as a study by the University of Liverpool showed.
A Swiss city is included in the crowns because the respective winning country normally hosts the ESC the following year. One exception, however, was in 2023, when the ESC was held in the UK and not in the winning country, Ukraine - due to the Russian war of aggression against the neighboring country.
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