Referendum demanded

Opposition to the Song Contest in Switzerland

(Bild: APA/AFP/Tobias SCHWARZ)

As the winner of the Song Contest, Switzerland will be allowed to host the Eurovision Song Contest next year. Several cities have already applied to host the world's biggest music competition. However, there is increasing opposition to the show. Several parties are even calling for referendums.

In these, all loans for holding the ESC are to be put to the people for a vote. Zurich, Geneva, Basel and Bern/Biel are in the running to host the event. The estimated costs of over 40 million francs (around 41.2 million euros) would be largely financed by taxpayers' money, the party criticizes.

Criticism of the direction in which ESC is "developing"
Although the singing competition has the potential to be a cheerful folk festival, it has developed "in a different direction" in recent years, according to the EDU. Recently, anti-Semitic incidents have become more frequent. The demonstrations against the Israeli singer Eden Golan have also raised fears that holding the ESC in Switzerland could pose a considerable security risk. In addition, there are more and more performances in which Satanism and occultism are celebrated. This year's performance by singer Bambie Thugs from Ireland was at least a visual example of this.

Nemo was the first non-binary person to win the song contest this year.

(Bild: APA/AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

In Zurich, where the city parliament approved a 20 million loan last week, the taxpayers' association also wants to defend itself against the ESC. On Wednesday evening, the SVP-affiliated organization plans to officially decide on the referendum. There are also threats of a referendum in Bern. 

At cantonal level, the SVP and EDU are threatening a referendum against the loan of almost 30 million presented by the cantonal government. The money is primarily intended to cover security costs. 

There is no uprising in these cities
In Basel-Stadt, there has so far been no noticeable opposition to a possible staging of the Eurovision Song Contest. On the contrary: at the beginning of June, the Grand Council passed a resolution introduced by the GLP in favor of a bid by 74 votes to 8 with 6 abstentions. Most members of the SVP parliamentary group were also in favor. There has also been no opposition in Geneva so far.