Swiss Draw Euphoric Conclusion After Eurovision Song Contest 2025

"These are the numbers we dreamed of, our expectations were met," said Basel's government president Conradin Cramer to the media after the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 in Basel. "My wildest dreams have come true," he quoted the Austrian ESC winner JJ.

Basel Government President: "Numbers we dreamed of, our expectations were met" -[…]

Around 170 million people watched the ESC on screen. In total, over 100,000 people attended the shows in the St. Jakobshalle and in the Arena plus. At least as many attended the opening ceremony with the parade through downtown Basel the Sunday before last. Another 343,000 people attended the accompanying program events, as announced at the balance media conference. About 23,000 people visited the Eurovision Village in Messehalle 1 each day. The stage of the Eurovision Square at Barfüsserplatz attracted up to 25,000 guests. "We felt that the city of Basel was really involved from the beginning," said SRG Director General Susanne Wille, thanking all those involved.

The atmosphere was peaceful and the "spark of the ESC" spread to society, said Wille. The bicantonal task force also draws a positive conclusion. Apart from isolated disruptions by demonstrators, the major event went off without violent incidents, as Justice and Security Director Stephanie Eymann noted. In total, ten demonstrations took place during the ESC week, three of which were approved. The task force was challenged during the opening parade when they stopped 150 people at Messeplatz who wanted to block the Israeli delegation. Additionally, they prevented around 400 demonstrators from reaching the Eurovision Village during the final on Saturday evening.

Three Threats Against Eurovision Song Contest 2025

The offer of the awareness teams with low-threshold victim support was utilized, but there have been no reports of sexual offenses related to the ESC events so far, said Eymann. There were also eleven violations of the drone flight ban and corresponding warnings. However, these involved people who were unaware of the ban and had "no malicious intentions," Eymann further stated. Additionally, there were three threats against the event via email during the ESC. The immediately initiated investigations did not reveal any serious threats, according to the report of the bicantonal task force. The expected cyberattacks also did not cause any damage to the IT infrastructure of the authorities and organizers. Given the high number of visitors, the police and rescue services had comparatively little to do. Occasionally, the police had to mediate fights between intoxicated partygoers, but more serious attacks did not occur.

Around 50,000 Overnight Stays During Eurovision Song Contest 2025

The ESC brought around 50,000 overnight stays to Basel's hospitality industry, including about 3,000 guests in private accommodations, as Basel's tourism director Letizia Elia summarized. At the beginning of the week, hotel occupancy was at 85 percent, and in the second half of the week even at 95 percent. This represents a significant increase compared to the usual May average of 60 percent, as Elia explained. In total, 250 hours of live music were heard in Basel during the ESC week, as Host City project manager Beat Läuchli said. "It was a folk festival as it should be," said Läuchli. Additionally, on the final day, the city's parking garages were only half full. The traffic concept with special trains and additional tram and bus services proved to be effective.

(APA/Red)

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