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.
Basel's city council said in a statement that it was "delighted with the decision and sees hosting the world's largest music competition as a great opportunity,''
''Basel will do everything in its power to be a good host," it said.
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.
Nemo's winning song, ''The Code,'' is an operatic pop-rap ode to the singer's journey toward embracing a nongender identity. Nemo is the first nonbinary winner of the contest that has long been embraced by the LGBTQ+ community.
Conradin Cramer, president of the Basel regional council, said the 2025 contest would reflect ''the spirit of Basel, which is an open-minded spirit, a diverse spirit.''
He said that as a double border city, ''we are used to having guests from all around the world and we will offer those guests an unbelievable experience.''
