Swiss region to vote over cost of hosting Eurovision

BASEL

Switzerland's northern Basel is expected to hold a referendum next month on the millions required to host the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest, after opponents on Oct. 26 presented enough signatures to put the issue to a vote.

Swiss singer Nemo's 2024 Eurovision victory gave Switzerland the right to host next year's event, with a huge global audience guaranteed.

Basel in August beat several large Swiss cities in their bid to host the glitzy annual TV extravaganza, but the financial demands have raised objections.

Swiss voters are used to having a direct say on how their taxes are spent, and some were bristling at the potential costs and hassle of bringing the Eurovision circus to town.

In September, the small, ultra-conservative, Christian fundamentalist Federal Democratic Union of Switzerland (EDU) announced it aimed to bring a referendum against coughing up the tens of millions needed to put on the show.

And on Oct. 26, it showed up at the Basel City Hall with 4,203 signatures attached to its demand for a vote against granting the required 37.5-million Swiss franc ($43.3-million) credit, Swiss media reported.

That was more than double the number of signatures required to push through a referendum in Basel-Stadt Canton.

The regional government still needs to verify the signatures, but given the high number, the issue is now expected to be put to a vote on November 24, the next national day of voting under Switzerland's famous direct democratic system.

EDU has reportedly in the past described Eurovision as a "propaganda platform for homosexuals" and has expressed concerns that the show promotes "the occult."

During Saturday's event, EDU president Daniel Frischknecht insisted that the region could find far better ways to invest its money, the Keystone-ATS news agency reported.

The party insisted that it had nothing against music, nor against the sexual orientation of the participants, but maintained Eurovision was pushing a political ideology.

Frischknecht cited anti-Semitic threats against the participant from Israel and the "Satanist" performance by Irish artist Bambie Thug during the 2024 edition held in Malmo, Sweden in May.

The EDU is meanwhile unlikely to garner much support from other political parties in Basel, since the Eurovision budget was overwhelmingly approved last month by the regional parliament.