The 2025 contest is scheduled to take place in Basel, Switzerland, following the country's victory at the 2024 contest with the song "The Code", performed by Nemo. It will be the third time that Switzerland has hosted the contest, having previously done so for the inaugural contest in 1956 and the 1989 contest, held in Lugano and Lausanne respectively. The selected venue for the contest is the 12,400-seat St. Jakobshalle, which serves as a venue for indoor sports and concert events. The arena is located at the borders of Basel, adjacent to the neighbouring municipality of Münchenstein.[3]
The Messe and Congress Center Basel complex will host several events related to the contest. It will be the location of the Eurovision Village, which hosts performances by contest participants and local artists as well as screenings of the live shows for the general public; the EuroClub, which hosts the official after-parties and private performances by contest participants; the "Turquoise Carpet" event on 11 May 2025, where the contestants and their delegations are presented before accredited press and fans; and the opening and closing ceremonies.[4]St. Jakob-Park will host a screening of the final and performances by past Eurovision artists, with entry charged for the public; the stadium will also be featured on the live broadcast.[5][6] The Eurovision Street is set to be located at Stäinevorstadt.[7][8]
The location of the host city Basel (in blue), shortlisted cities (in green), other bidding cities (in red) and cities and towns that expressed interest but ultimately did not bid (in grey)
After Switzerland's win in the 2024 contest, the local authorities of Geneva expressed interest in hosting the 2025 edition at Palexpo and submitted a formal application.[9][10] On the same day, the president of the Basel-Stadt government, Conradin Cramer, also expressed interest in Basel hosting the 2025 event.[11] On 12 May, Olma Hall in St. Gallen was proposed as a potential venue.[12][13] On 13 May, Lugano, which hosted the inaugural contest in 1956, ruled out a bid to host in 2025.[14] The president of Bern's cantonal government Philippe Müller expressed his reluctance to host the contest in the de facto Swiss capital,[15] but the cantonal government itself later announced its support in organising the event in Bern.[16] Meanwhile, Zurich's city council held a "high priority" meeting to discuss a bid.[17][18] On 14 May, Lausanne, which hosted the 1989 contest, ruled out a bid to host in 2025, citing a lack of infrastructure.[19] On 15 May, Biel/Bienne declared its interest to be associated with and co-host the event.[20] On 17 May, the local government of Fribourg stated that it was examining a potential bid.[21] On 5 June, the Basel-Stadt government confirmed that it would bid, proposing St. Jakobshalle and St. Jakob-Park as possible venues.[22] On 6 June, Biel/Bienne and Bern's municipalities announced a joint bid.[23][24] On 12 June, St. Gallen announced that it would not submit a bid due to not meeting the requirements to host the event.[25]
The host broadcaster SRG SSR launched the bidding process on 27 May 2024, by issuing a list of requirements for interested cities.[26] Basel, Bern, Geneva, and Zurich officially declared their interest and finalised their bids on 28 June.[27][28] Representatives from the host broadcaster visited the four bidding cities in early July,[29][30] and shortlisted Basel and Geneva on 19 July.[31] On 30 August, the EBU and SRG SSR announced Basel as the host city, with St. Jakobshalle as the chosen venue.[32][3]
Eligibility for participation in the Eurovision Song Contest requires a national broadcaster with active EBU membership capable of receiving the contest via the Eurovision network and broadcasting it live nationwide. The EBU issues invitations to participate in the contest to all active members. Interested broadcasters have until 15 September 2024 to submit their application for participation in the 2025 contest to the EBU, and until 11 October to withdraw without facing a financial penalty.[41]
Countries that are part of the "Big Five" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom) and the host country Switzerland will be automatically allocated a place in the final of the contest, while all other countries will be placed in one of the two semi-finals.[42]
As of October 2024,[update] broadcasters from the following countries have publicly confirmed their intention to participate in the 2025 contest. Montenegro is set to return after a two-year absence.
Provisional list of participants of the Eurovision Song Contest 2025
Netherlands – On 6 June 2024, Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS stated that its participation in 2025 would depend on "structural adjustments" to the organisation of the contest, following the controversies of the 2024 edition, including the disqualification of that year's Dutch entrant, Joost Klein, from the final.[96] The broadcaster subsequently entered discussions with the EBU, and was granted an extension until 1 November to confirm its decision on participation.[97][98][99]
Poland – On 3 September 2024, Polish broadcaster TVP, in response to rumours of JoJo Siwa applying to represent Poland in 2025, stated that it "has not yet made any decisions regarding participation in the Contest".[100]
Romania – On 10 September 2024, Romanian broadcaster TVR stated that it has not made a decision on participation in 2025.[101] Romania last took part in 2023.
Kosovo – On 6 June 2024, the broadcaster's general director Shkumbin Ahmetxhekaj sent a formal letter to the EBU requesting an invitation to participate in Eurovision 2025.[106][107] In August 2024, Kosovar news outlet Zëri reported that the EBU rejected RTK's request for an invitation during its General Assembly in July, requiring full EBU membership as a prerequisite to competing in the contest. Ahmetxhekaj later commented that the EBU was "against management changes at RTK", which "negatively" affected the outcome of the invitation request.[108][109]
The Eurovision Song Contest 2025 will be produced by the Swiss national broadcaster Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG SSR). The core team will consist of Reto Peritz and Moritz Stadler as executive producers,[110] and Yves Schifferle as head of show. Reprising their roles from the previous edition are Christer Björkman as head of contest and Tobias Åberg as head of production, with other production personnel including Nadja Burkhardt-Tracol as head of event, Manfred Winz as head of finance, Aurore Chatard as head of security, and Kevin Stuber as head of legal.[111][112]
The contest's organisation will be restructured for 2025; this was announced by the EBU on 1 July 2024, following a review into the controversies of the 2024 contest.[113] The position of the executive supervisor, held by Martin Österdahl since the 2021 edition, was reported to be renamed as show supervisor, and two new positions were created: the ESC director and the head of brand and commercial. The ESC director will oversee the work of the show supervisor and the head of brand and commercial.[114][115]
^ abCramer, Conradin [@ConradinCramer] (12 May 2024). "Herzliche Gratulation an Nemo" [Warm Congratulations to Nemo] (Tweet) (in Swiss High German). Retrieved 12 May 2024 – via Twitter.
^"Vortrag des Gemeinderats an den Stadtrat Eurovision Song Contest 2025; Verpflichtungskredit" [Presentation of the municipal council to the city council: Eurovision Song Contest 2025; Commitment credit] (PDF). bern.ch (in Swiss High German). 26 June 2024. Retrieved 30 June 2024. Anfangs Juli 2024 finden die Pitch-Präsentationen und allfällige Standortbesichtigungen statt. Ende Juli 2024 wird durch das SRG kommuniziert, welche zwei potenziellen Austragungsstädte noch im Rennen sind (Shortlist). [The pitch presentations and any site visits will take place at the beginning of July 2024. At the end of July 2024, the SRG will announce which two potential host cities are still in the running (shortlist).]
^Galli, Paolo (13 May 2024). "Eurosong, Zurigo non si sfila" [Eurosong, Zurich doesn't show up]. Corriere del Ticino (in Italian). Retrieved 13 May 2024.
^"Xavier Bettel félicite Tali: «Tellement fier de toi»". L'essentiel (in French). 7 May 2024. Retrieved 10 June 2024. Rien ne s'oppose non plus à un «Concours luxembourgeois de la chanson», la volonté est là. «Nous préparons et recherchons le prochain candidat pour aller en Suisse», a déclaré Gloesener. [Nor is there anything to oppose a 'Luxembourg Song Competition', the will is there. 'We are preparing and looking for the next candidate to go to Switzerland,' said Gloesener.]
^"MESC Music Exchange Camp – Regulations"(PDF). PBS. 6 May 2024. p. 6. Retrieved 13 May 2024. The compositions (lyrics and music) created during the MEC [The Malta Eurovision Song Contest Music Exchange Camp] 2024 must not be commercially released before the next edition of the Malta Eurovision Song Contest 2025 and the Malta Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2024
^Sundeby, Maria Askerfjord (17 September 2024). "Hit åker Melodifestivalen 2025" [Melodifestivalen 2025 will go here]. SVT Nyheter (in Swedish). SVT. Retrieved 17 September 2024.
^Palmborg, Martin; Elmervik, Linn (17 September 2024). "Mello-städerna 2025 spikade" [The 2025 Mello cities nailed down]. Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 17 September 2024.