The Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) is coming to Basel this May, and with it a wealth of emotions, stories, and memories. In collaboration with the general public and local associations, the Historisches Museum Basel has launched a project to collect personal ESC objects and their stories from April to June 2025, under the motto: “Donate an object. Share your story. Let’s make Eurovision history!”

From now on, ESC fans from the Basel area are invited to submit their memories and objects using an online form on the museum’s website (https://www.hmb.ch/en/news/news/submission-form-esc-memory-box/). Do you have old concert tickets, fan merchandise/memorabilia, or maybe even an autograph? Lend or donate your memorabilia and tell them what it means to you. Did you have your first kiss while a Céline Dion record was playing? Do you have any memorabilia or photos that mean a lot to you? Or did you even enter for the ESC once and have memories of it?

From April 29, the contributions received will be published and continuously expanded in the digital Memory Box at https://www.hmb.ch/en/news/news/esc-memory-box/. At the heart of the project is the physical Memory Box (container) on Theaterplatz next to the Tinguely fountain, which will be open from 11:00-19:00 daily (closed May 19). From May 10-25, this physical Memory Box will serve as a growing exhibition and vibrant meeting space in the center of Basel. The objects already collected will be on display, and visitors are invited to bring along their own Eurovision memorabilia and personal stories.

With the ESC Memory Box, the Basel Historical Museum is realizing a participatory project in which the public is actively involved in deciding which objects and memories are collected and preserved for future generations. The project began in early April, when representatives of local associations—including a Fasnacht clique that had a lantern with an ESC theme and the Eurovision Club Switzerland—donated objects with personal stories about the ESC. One highlight is the coat that was presented to Basel by the previous ESC host city of Malmö, Sweden, in January 2025. It has since become part of the collection of the Historisches Museum Basel and will be on display in the Barfüsserkirche until June 29; admission to view the coat is free.

The project will conclude in June when museum staff, together with representatives of the local associations, will decide which objects will be permanently included in the collection for future generations to enjoy.

https://www.hmb.ch/en/news/news/esc-memory-box

Advertisement