Basel, a Swiss city bordering Germany and France, will host next year’s , public broadcaster SSR-SRG announced on Friday.
The final of the event, which attracted 163 million viewers worldwide this year, will take place on Saturday, May 17.
“Congratulations to Basel,” said Reto Peritz and Moritz Stader, the co-executive producers of the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC), in a statement. “We look forward to working with you to make the ESC an unforgettable experience for everyone.”
The event will take place in the St. Jakobshalle, which is known for tennis tournaments and other sporting events. It can accommodate 12,000 people.
The show will also be broadcast at the nearby St. Jakob-Park football stadium, which has a capacity of 20,000.
Why was Basel chosen to host the Eurovision Song Contest?
The predominantly German-speaking city on the Rhine was chosen over Geneva.
According to SSR-SRG, the choice of Basel and the St. Jakobshalle was based on criteria such as the suitability of the hall to host the event, sustainability and security, available funding and “creative ideas for side events.”
won the right to host the annual song contest, which attracts hundreds of millions of viewers worldwide, after , Sweden.
Nemo was the first Swiss winner since 1988, when Canada’s Celine Dion competed under the Swiss flag.
Switzerland also hosted and won the first edition of the Eurovision Song Contest in the southern city of Lugano in 1956.
dh/rc (AP, AFP, dpa, Reuters)
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