Now that we have Switzerland hosting Eurovision in 2025, this is a good time to look at their past contributions as host.
Please note: There are not many. One would think there might be, given that Switzerland is one of the “Original Seven” in the contest, but the truth is that Switzerland’s Eurovision success has been sporadic. Yet, Switzerland did contribute a very important hosting duty to the history of the contest.
Switzerland Hosting Eurovision: When?
Switzerland, inclusive of the 2025 contest, has hosted Eurovision three times.
The first was in 1956, the very first Eurovision Song Contest. It would be 33 years before they hosted it again in 1989. Finally, the Swiss Confederation would have to wait another 36 years to pick up the 2025 contest.
Perhaps this means we can count on seeing them host again between 2058 and 2061. If they can plan on winning a little earlier, they can host the 100th Eurovision Song Contest, which would be some nice historical symmetry given that they did the first.
Switzerland Hosting Eurovision: Where?
Eurovision’s first-ever contest was held in Lugano, a city far in Switzerland’s south near the Italian border.
When they hosted the contest in 1989, they moved to the western part of the country and Lausanne.
Finally, in this latest hosting, they’ve gone to the north and Basel, a city which borders both France and Germany.
Will Eastern Switzerland be next in a few decades?
Switzerland Hosting Eurovision: The Contests
1956: Lugano
Switzerland had the honor of winning the first Eurovision Song Contest on Thursday, 24 May 1956, which means they were also the first country to win in a year when they hosted. Yet, as there had been no contest prior, how did Switzerland end up hosting the first edition?
For starters, there were only seven countries in the mix, so the Swiss had 1-in-7 odds. Those are not terribly long, all things considered. However, it was not by random chance that the Swiss ended up getting the first-ever Eurovision hosting bid: They asked for it. After the still relatively-new European Broadcasting Union green-lit the first contest in 1955, the Swiss broadcaster offered to host it in 1956, and the rest is history. (A Diamond Day for the Eurovision Song Contest, 2015)
As Switzerland won in 1956 (“Refrain,” Lys Assia) and had no plans to renew their hosting duties, the initial idea was that national broadcasters would rotate hosting responsibilities. Before long, the modern system evolved where the winning country had the first right of refusal.
The first venue for the Eurovision Song Contest, called the European Grand Prix at that point, was Teatro Kursaal. This theater was torn down in the early 2000s and replaced by Casinò Lugano.
Eurovision’s first-ever host was Lohengrin Filipello, a television personality in Switzerland. To date, he is the only male to have solo-hosted the Eurovision Song Contest. The Swiss broadcaster banged out the show in about 100 minutes despite 14 songs being performed. (Lugano 1956, n.d.) There being no dramatic voting reveal is probably part of why it did not linger as long. It is also one of two contests, with 1964 being the other, of which there is very little surviving video.
1989: Lausanne
Eurovision’s first winner probably did not think it would be decades before they won again, but they can thank someone you’ve probably never heard of, not at all, for their 1989 hosting bid: Céline Dion.
The contest had evolved quite a bit since their first time hosting, so by the time Eurovision arrived in Lausanne on Saturday, 6 May 1989, it was a whole different world. The staging at Palais de Beaulieu was a lot more visually involved than it had been in 1956. So many elements which did not exist in 1956 were now a part of the Swiss broadcaster’s calculus: Graphic effects, 22 participating countries, a digital scoreboard (and score reveals), multiple hosts, and postcards.
Hosting the contest were Jacques Deschenaux and Lolita Morena, both of whom are Swiss television personalities.
1989’s winning song was “Rock Me” by Riva, which was the only time that Yugoslavia ever won the contest. The country ceased to exist a few years later, but it has left us with numerous countries in its wake, most of which still participate today. Rounding out the top five in Lausanne were the United Kingdom, Denmark, Sweden, and Austria. Hosting Switzerland finished in 13th.
Unlike the brisk 1956 contest, the 1989 edition took over three hours.
2025: Basel
The contest has taken many more leaps forward since the last time Switzerland hosted Eurovision in 1989. It used to be a black-tie event with a quiet crowd, and now it’s a flag-waving, loud-cheering music festival. Even a minimal effort by SRG SSR would still be the biggest Eurovision Switzerland has ever hosted.
For the first time, Switzerland will not be hosting one show, but three. The semifinals are on Tuesday, 13 May and Thursday, 15 May, while the final will be on Saturday, 17 May. Expect the final to last upwards of four hours, more than double the time Switzerland had to put in for the first one.
Eurovision’s 2025 venue is St. Jakobshalle, Basel’s large indoor arena. The shows will be hosted by an all-female trio of Sandra Studer (Switzerland 1991), Hazel Brugger, and Michelle Hunziker.
References
A diamond day for the Eurovision Song Contest. (2015, October 19). Eurovision.tv. Retrieved April 15, 2025, from https://eurovision.tv/story/a-diamond-day-for-the-eurovision-song-contest
Lugano 1956. (n.d.). Eurovision.tv. Retrieved April 15, 2025, from https://eurovision.tv/event/lugano-1956
