Following a vibrant week of celebrating music, diversity, tolerance, and togetherness, the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) has come to an end with the win of the Austrian entry, JJ with his song “Wasted Love.” Basel presented itself as the quintessential host to the world’s biggest music show.

Using this international stage, Basel presented itself as a cosmopolitan, culturally diverse, and hospitable city. In just eight months, and with a budget of CHF 35 million, the Swiss team—consisting of SRG as host broadcaster and the host city of Basel—organized a major event with global appeal. Overall, around 170 million people watched the ESC around the world, and well over 500,000 visitors were on site in Basel. The extremely positive feedback from visitors, the media, partner organizations, and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) testifies to the high appreciation for the implementation and the special atmosphere in the city.

The accompanying cultural program during the ESC week set new standards and was enjoyed by over half a million people who celebrated a peaceful and colorful festival. For the first time, the Eurovision Village was set up in a hall, the opening ceremony was held with a parade right through the city center, and the grand finale was celebrated with a public viewing in the stadium. With over 250 hours of live music on numerous stages, dance, art, and many meeting formats, Basel was transformed into an open festival city that was free and accessible to all.

Highlights of the ESC Week in Basel

• The Opening Ceremony with all 37 delegations consisted of a 1.3-kilometer parade through the city center, accompanied by 2,000 participants (including numerous Fasnacht groups in costume) and attended by over 100,000 people; it was complemented by an international livestream.
• The Eurovision Village at the Basel Messe hosted over 80 free events—from concerts and performances by the ESC delegations to public viewings—and welcomed an average of around 23,000 visitors per day.
• The Eurovision Square on Barfüsserplatz hosted over 50 regional musical acts—from jazz to classical to hip-hop—which attracted up to 25,000 guests and gave local musicians a chance to shine.
• The Arena Plus, the public viewing in St. Jakob-Park, was the largest of its kind in Eurovision history. There, 36,000 fans experienced the finale with a show, live acts, and a festival atmosphere.

Sustainable Mobility

Thanks to close cooperation with public transport companies, in particular SBB, BLT, and BVB, Basel also achieved impressive results in terms of mobility. During ESC week, 700 additional trams and 450 additional bus services operated in Basel, supplemented by over 100 special trains from across Switzerland. The vast majority of guests traveled by public transport—even on the final evening, the city’s parking garages were only 50% full.

Volunteers Contribute to the ESC Success

Around 700 volunteers from across Switzerland worked over 6,500 shifts, contributing significantly to the success of the ESC with their dedication, hospitality, and heart.

Positive Results for the Tourism Industries

The excellent cooperation of all those involved—from administration, institutions, business and the population—has contributed to positioning Basel internationally as an open, friendly, and creative host.

Accommodations

The week of events surrounding the ESC brought positive figures for Basel’s hotel industry: A total of around 50,000 overnight stays were generated, including around 3,000 guests in private accommodations. Hotel occupancy was 85% at the beginning of the week and even reached 95% in the second half of the week—a significant increase compared to the usual May average of around 60%. 

Catering

The catering industry also benefited. Restaurants along Eurovision Boulevard, such as Eurovision Street (Steinenvorstadt) or Clarastrasse, were particularly busy. Restaurants in the official ESC venues, such as the Eurovision Village and Eurovision Square, also recorded high sales.

Businesses

Basel’s businesses played a central role in the welcoming culture. Around 800 people were trained in advance as part of Basel Tourism’s “Get Ready” events, and 350 businesses participated in the “Friends of Eurovision” campaign. A total of 50,000 items such as posters, pins, beer mats, and flags were distributed and prominently displayed, creating a nice addition to the city’s branding.

Arts & Culture

The arts and culture scene also made a valuable contribution: Claudia Comte presented the monumental soundwave sculpture on the Messeplatz, the Fondation Beyeler showed the exhibition “Over the Rainbow,” and the Jahic Röthlisberger studio set a further artistic accent with a poetic neon work at Klybeckstrasse 18. These were complemented by numerous special exhibitions and urban art projects throughout the city.

Tourist Industry

For Basel’s tourism industry, the focus is not only on short-term revitalization but also on long-term value creation. The ESC was an exceptional platform for Basel’s international positioning. Media interest was high, and the reach was considerable. In addition to the ESC’s global appeal, accompanying media coverage generated approximately 450 million contacts. The ESC acts as a powerfull marketing tool for host cities that enhances their international profile, which continues to draw visitors years after the event, leading to sustained tourism growth. 

Police Operation & Other Emergency Services

The ESC 2025 saw the first-ever joint operation by the Basel-Stadt and Basel-Landschaft police forces. The enormous police presence from the various cantons was evident and contributed to the peace and the feeling of safety during this enormous city-wide party. Apart from a few disruptive actions by demonstrators, the major event passed without any violent incidents. 

A total of 10 demonstrations during the ESC week, three of which were authorized, repeatedly required the police to carefully balance the right to demonstrate on the one hand with ensuring public safety on the other. Particularly worthy of mention are the opening ceremony on Sunday, May 11, when police had to stop 150 people at the Messeplatz, and the unauthorized demonstration on Saturday, May 17, when around 700-800 demonstrators were also prevented from disrupting the Eurovision Village, which was heavily frequented by the festival crowd. Rubber bullets and pepper spray were used and during clashes, three police officers had to be hospitalized due to injuries sustained from firecrackers.

Due to the demonstrations as well as the huge crowds, public transport was repeatedly restricted in the city throughout the week; in the St. Jakob area, the traffic restrictions caused traffic jams on the highway and in the neighborhood streets. No major accidents were recorded during the entire operation. 

Three threats against the event were received, investigated, and deemed not to pose any serious threat. There were 11 drone flight ban violations, and cyberattacks did not manage to cause any damage to the IT infrastructure of authorities or event organizers, and no data leakage occurred.

The mood among the large audience during the final weekend can be described as consistently positive. Given the enormous number of visitors, police and emergency services had relatively little to do. In isolated cases, police had to break up fights between intoxicated festivalgoers; more serious attacks were largely avoided. To date, no sexual assaults with a possible connection to the ESC have been reported to the police. Organizers attribute this, at least in part, to a special awareness program that was developed specifically for the ESC (and will be implemented again for the Women’s European Football Championships in July), which included a 24-hour helpline, mobile awareness teams patrolling the party area in pairs, and four supervised shelters throughout the city. 

The Basel-Stadt ambulance service was called out to a variety of incidents due to falls, circulatory problems, or other medical issues. The professional fire department did not report any increased callouts throughout the week, except for a fire in the harbor on Sunday morning. 

All in all, Basel’s ESC party is considered to have been a huge and peaceful success that highlighted Basel as an open, friendly, and charming city that will continue to bring in additional funds through enhanced tourism for years to come.

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