GENEVA – The Swiss city of Basel will host next year’s Eurovision Song Contest from May 13 to 17, organizers announced Friday.
The mostly German-speaking city on the Rhine River bordering both France and Germany was selected over Geneva in a faceoff that generated buzz and anticipation across Switzerland.
“The government council is delighted with the decision and sees hosting the world’s largest music competition as a great opportunity,” Basel’s city council said in a statement. “Basel will do everything in its power to be a good host.”
The Alpine country won the right to host the annual glitzy song-and-dance extravaganza, which draws hundreds of millions of viewers worldwide, after Swiss singer Nemo won the contest’s 68th edition in May in Sweden.
Swiss public broadcaster SSR-SRG said the selection of Basel and the St. Jakobshalle indoor arena was made based on criteria including the hall’s suitability to host the event, sustainability and safety issues, funds made available and “creative ideas for the side events.”
Nemo was the first Swiss winner since 1988, when Canada’s Celine Dion competed under the Swiss flag.
The song contest is organized each year by the European Broadcasting Union, which is based in Geneva, with dozens of participating broadcasters.
Basel’s city council cited an EBU study that found this year’s contest in the Swedish city of Malmö reached more than 160 million TV viewers and over 80 million YouTube users around the world. It said the advertising value of the event was estimated to be 805 million euros ($892 million).
Switzerland hosted and won the first edition in the southern city of Lugano in 1956.
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