Basel

Martin Green director of Eurovision Song Contest

Martin Green will be the director of the Eurovision Song Contest. After last year’s Eurovision Song Contest, the EBU (European Broadcasting Union) made some changes. One of these changes was to appoint a director to lead the contest. Today, the name of Martin Green is announced. Green has led many major events. These include the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Hull UK City of Culture in 2017, and the Birmingham Commonwealth Games in 2022. He also produced the BAFTA-winning Eurovision Song Contest in 2023 in Liverpool for Ukraine. Jean Philip De Tender, the EBU’s Director of Media, praised Green’s experience and creativity. He said that Green’s leadership will play a key role as they prepare for the 2025 contest and plan for the future. The EBU is committed to building on Eurovision’s history and making it even more powerful at uniting people through music. Green currently works as Vice President of global live events at TAIT, an entertainment company. He will start his new role in November. Green, who received a CBE in 2017, said he is excited to lead such a special event. He believes Eurovision brings people together across generations and cultures. He looks forward to making the event’s future even brighter. Since 1956, Eurovision has grown from a small competition with just seven countries to a global event. Today, it reaches millions of TV viewers and billions of online users around the world. The 69th Eurovision Song Contest will take place in Basel, Switzerland, from May 13 to 17, 2025. The EBU will announce the list of participating broadcasters by the end of this year. Martin Green will be the director of the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time in Basel.

Dutch broadcaster delays decision on participation

The Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS has been allowed to delay their decision about participating in next year’s Eurovision Song Contest. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which organizes Eurovision, has given them until at least November 1 to decide. AVROTROS explained that a meeting with the EBU’s leadership has started a positive conversation. To give this conversation a chance, they asked for more time to decide if they will participate. The EBU agreed to this delay, and AVROTROS is thankful for it. The broadcaster started questioning their participation after the EBU disqualified Dutch artist Joost Klein from this year’s Eurovision final in Malmö, Sweden. Klein had an argument with a camerawoman, which led to his disqualification. AVROTROS disagreed with the EBU’s decision. Recently, Swedish authorities closed the case, saying there wasn’t enough evidence. Next year’s Eurovision will take place in May in Basel, Switzerland. The EBU hopes that the Netherlands will take part and plans to announce the list of participating countries by the end of the year.

🇨🇾 Theo Evan to represent Cyprus

Theo Evan will represent Cyprus in the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest. That is what the singer himself announced on Instagram today. The singer was internally selected by the Cypriot broadcaster CyBC. Theo Evan is a Cypriot singer, born in Nicosia. He was already a singer and a dancer at the age of 7. In his teens he started writing songs himself. After finishing school in Nicosia, Theo moved to the United States to study music and performance at the famous Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. He did very well in his studies and has been invited back as an honorary guest at the university’s graduation ceremony three times, alongside stars like Missy Elliot, Pharrell Williams, John Legend, and Justin Timberlake! Theo released his first single, “The Wall,” in 2021, and since then, he has created a strong collection of songs, inspired by artists like Stromae, Michael Jackson, and reggaeton. Theo was also involved in the popular HBO TV series Euphoria, where he appeared as an extra!

Eurovision 2025 in Geneva or Basel

Swiss broadcaster SRG has announced the final two candidates to host the 69th Eurovision Song Contest: Basel and Geneva. SRG has narrowed down the initial bids to these two cities. One of them will host the contest in Switzerland in May 2025, with the final decision to be made in late August. Cities had until the end of June to submit their bids based on a detailed list of requirements. Important criteria included arena facilities, public transport, sustainability, hotel availability, security, waste management, investment, event experience, and city support. A Eurovision Song Contest working group reviewed the bids from Basel, Geneva, Zurich, and Berne/Biel. This review involved both quantitative and qualitative criteria, as well as the cities’ commitment and creative ideas. The goal is to make Eurovision 2025 an unforgettable event. The accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) supervised the assessment of the bids. Following the recommendations of the working group, the ESC 2025 Steering Committee, led by SRG Director General Gilles Marchand, chose Basel and Geneva as the final candidates. Geneva, Commons.wikimedia.org Basel, Commons.wikimedia.org Switzerland will host the 69th Eurovision Song Contest in 2025 because of Nemo’s win in Malmö with the song “The Code,” which scored 591 points in the Grand Final, marking Switzerland’s third Eurovision victory.