2024-07-14 07:16:51
Zurich, Geneva, Basel, along with Bern in conjunction with Biel the city of Nemo, are the four candidates announced to stage the 69th Eurovision Song Contest.
The winner should be announced at the end of August, with the annual kitsch show scheduled for mid-May 2025.
But the financial demands of hosting Eurovision – and, in some quarters, even the fear of darkness – have led to threats of local elections to ensure that cities are not saddled with the event.
The competition puts the host cities on the spot, with 163 million viewers worldwide watching this year’s event in Malmo, Sweden, where Nemo won with his personal best song “The Code”.
Tourism is also a hit for hotel and tourism companies as Eurovision fans, artists and national representatives come in.
Following a flurry of early enthusiasm, four active bids have emerged by the end of the June deadline.
However, Swiss voters are used to having a direct say on how their tax dollars are spent, and some are balking at the enormous costs and hassle of bringing the Eurovision circus to town.
Satanism concerns
Under Switzerland’s system of direct democracy, popular votes can be triggered on most any issue if enough signatures are gathered.
The Christian, right-wing Federal Democratic Union (EDU) minority party is pushing for elections against public funding in all potential host cities.
“What worries us the most is that Satanism and darkness are increasingly being celebrated or at least tolerated,” EDU executive board member Samuel Kullmann, according to public broadcaster SRF.
“More and more artists are showing dark messages openly,” he said, referring to Bambie Thug’s entry into Ireland’s Witchcraft in 2024.
But Switzerland’s next window for popular votes comes after the host city selection date in August – which could throw a spanner in the works.
In the end, the host broadcaster SRG will decide the position, supported by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) the public media association that owns Eurovision.
“Financial agreements without voting requirements are certainly less risky and give us more planning security,” said SRG spokesman Edi Estermann.
“Ultimately, however, this is just one aspect of a comprehensive list of questions.”
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‘Terrorism, chaos’
Since its 1950s inception, Eurovision has ballooned into a colorful annual festival that doesn’t take itself too seriously.
It is a non-profit event, funded mostly by heavy contributions from participating EBU broadcasters.
Eurovision says that “given the benefits that will flow” to the host city, it must make a contribution to hosting the contest.
This can be “either in money or ‘in kind’ (for example covering the expenses of city branding, club events, security, etc.)”.
Potential host cities make packages of 20-40 million Swiss francs ($22.25-44.5 million).
The hard-right Swiss People’s Party (SVP), the country’s largest party, is eyeing election options in Zurich and Bern.
The 2024 event in Malmo is one of the most charged political contests ever, with Israel’s entry targeted by protests over the war in Gaza.
That hoopla is putting off some normally calm and orderly Switzerland.
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Eurovision 2024 “is dominated by terrorism, riots and slapstick politics rather than intellectual art. We don’t need that in Zurich!” regional SVP department said.
Meanwhile the SVP’s Bern Canton of the Eurovision brand has a “massive media spectacle” set to cost at least 40 million Swiss francs.
SVP Bern cantonal legislator Samuel Krahenbuhl said that Zurich, Geneva and Basel have great financial freedom. “The high costs and other problems that such an important event brings with it – let’s leave it to them,” he said.
Basel has seen little opposition so far to hosting the tournament, including from the SVP, while there is still great enthusiasm from Geneva politicians.
Financial squabbles over big events are not uncommon in Switzerland.
The country will host the 2025 European women’s soccer championship, but the government wants to reduce the promised contribution of 15 million francs to 4 million, before the parliament reverses the cut.
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