The next edition will take place among the people of Basel despite the protests of a small ultra-conservative party which had launched a petition to oppose it. In vain, since the referendum carried out as a result by the city obtained 66.6% favorable responses.
The conservatives did not have the last word. Voters in the Swiss city of Basel largely approved on Sunday, November 24, the financing of holding Eurovision 2025 there. Thus 66.6% of voters (with a participation of 57%) in the canton of Basel-City (north) accepted that taxpayers’ money, to the tune of 34.96 million Swiss francs (37.4 million euros), is used to host the event. Without funding from the host city, the television event, which attracts a huge global audience, would have been significantly truncated.
Switzerland won Eurovision 2024 in Sweden with the victory of non-binary artist Nemo and must therefore host the 2025 edition in May in this Rhine city, on the border of France and Germany. However, the prospect of hosting the inclusive event greatly displeased the Federal Democratic Union (UDF), a small party described as ultra-conservative by the Swiss press which claims to be committed to defending “Christian values”. In an attempt to scuttle the musical competition, the UDF launched a petition delivered to the city of Basel at the end of October. It had obtained 4,203 signatures, more than double the number of deletions necessary to request a referendum.
A little more than 64 million euros in immediate benefits expected
Philippe Karoubi, member of the UDF office, then described the contest as having become “completely instrumentalized to promote ideologies” as “Wokism” and the rights of transgender people. Beyond the arguments that the party considers “moral”, the UDF has waved the red rag of security risks and denounced a “real waste” public money. An argument brushed aside by the authorities who, based on previous editions in Liverpool and Malmö, in England and Sweden, hope for 60 million francs (a little more than 64 million euros) in immediate benefits.
Despite these conservative protests, the event will indeed be held in Switzerland on May 17 – after semi-finals organized on May 13 and 15. And the head of the cantonal government, Conradin Cramer, rejoiced at the favorable outcome of the vote: “For Basel, ‘yes’ means that we will be able to welcome visitors from Switzerland and Europe with open arms, and offer a fantastic program.”
