In the early hours of Sunday morning, Nemo became the first artist to win the Eurovision Song Contest for Switzerland since Celine Dion in 1988. Now, fans of music, glitz and glamour may be wondering which Swiss city or town will have the privilege of hosting the competition in 2025.
In a result that went right down to the wire, Nemo defied the betting odds to take first place at the Eurovision final in Malmö. Despite placing fifth overall in the public vote (behind Croatia, Israel, Ukraine and France), the artist from Biel / Bienne in Canton Bern was propelled to victory by being awarded the most points by the national juries.
Indeed, the Swiss singer received the legendary 12 points from 22 different countries. This meant that Switzerland earned 591 points overall, in front of Croatia in second (547) and Ukraine in third (453). With the victory, Nemo joins Lys Assia and Celine Dion as the third-ever winner of the competition for Switzerland.
Nemo’s triumph was also seen as a victory for LGBTQ+ visibility, with the artist identifying as non-binary and calling on the Swiss government to implement a “third option” when designating gender in official documents at a press conference after the event. In response, Federal Councillor Beat Jans said he was “incredibly proud and thrilled” that Nemo has “written art history and achieved an enormous amount for the social acceptance of the queer community.”
The councillor has also agreed to meet Nemo to hear their demands. “Let’s get together soon to talk about queer rights,” he concluded.
Now, with the spotlights switched off, the glitter packed away and the costumes folded neatly, Eurovision will now set its sights on Switzerland, with the winner of the 2024 competition expected to host the next contest at some point in May 2025. The most crucial thing to decide is where to host Eurovision in Switzerland.
Speaking to 20 Minuten, a spokesperson for the Palexpo venue in Geneva said that the alpine nation does not have many options when choosing where to host the contest, as “only the usual large sites of Zurich, Basel, Bern, Lausanne and Geneva can organise the competition.”
Sadly, this means that Eurovision will likely not be held in Nemo’s hometown of Biel / Bienne, nor in Montreux - arguably the Swiss city with the greatest connection to music, thanks to its annual jazz festival.
The Palexpo in Geneva was the first to announce its candidacy to host Eurovision in 2025. The venue - which can hold 15.000 spectators and 2.000 journalists - told 20 Minuten that it would be “working in collaboration with the Geneva authorities for several weeks to host this meeting, which is one of the most important global television events.”
The newspaper added that the Palexpo is an ideal host as it is well-served by public transport and is just a stone’s throw away from the airport.
Across the Röstigraben, on May 13 Green Liberal cantonal councillor Chantal Galladé submitted a proposal demanding that the Eurovision Song Contest be brought to Canton Zurich. “As an international and culture-loving canton, it is clear that you have to apply for the event… It would be an opportunity to give millions of Europeans an insight into the beauty, hospitality and diversity of our canton,” she told 20 Minuten. “It’s clear: an opportunity like this only comes along every few decades, so we have to seize it.”
Though the cantonal government has not been clear as to what venue in Zurich would hold the event, the Hallenstadion in Oerlikon has confirmed that it is “in discussions” to apply to be a host. As Switzerland’s largest city, any bid from Zurich would be considered a front-runner.
When it comes to Zurich’s city rivals, Canton Basel-Stadt wrote in a statement that “Basel is ready” to host Eurovision in 2025. “It would be great and honourable if Basel could host the next edition of this globally popular singing competition,” noted cantonal spokesperson Marco Breiner.
Basel’s location near Germany and France, its infrastructure and its venues were all touted as reasons to bring the song contest to the banks of the Rhine.
Elsewhere, the head of the Olma Swiss Fair for Agriculture and Food, Christine Bolt, confirmed that she has offered up the Olma Hall in St. Gallen as a host for the event. The venue in eastern Switzerland has a capacity of 12.000 people. Lausanne and Bern are yet to launch any bids for the competition.
With bids already flowing in, it will ultimately be up to the national broadcaster SRG SSR to make the final decision on which Swiss city should host Eurovision next year. Officials are expected to make their decision in the summer of 2024.
Where do you think Eurovision should be held? Let us know in the comments below!
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