As we reported earlier this month, Switzerland is spoiled for choice when it comes to potential host cities for Eurovision 2025. Geneva, Zürich, Basel and St. Gallen have already expressed their interest in hosting — and now the OLBG betting site have listed Zürich as the massive favourite to win.
| City | Odds | Probability |
| Zürich | 1/1 | 50% |
| Basel | 3/1 | 25% |
| Geneva | 3/1 | 25% |
| St. Gallen | 4/1 | 20% |
Eurovision 2025: Host city odds list Zürich as favourite
Any host city needs to meet certain requirements: making a substantial financial contribution to host the event, having a venue that can accommodate around 10,000 spectators, an international airport with a large number of European flight connections, an efficient transport system, and a large hotel accommodation capacity of at least 2,000 rooms. Additionally, the host city needs the infrastructure and venues to host the Press Centre, Delegation Bubble, Eurovision Village, EuroClub, and side events.
Zürich meets all of the requirements without breaking a sweat.
One of their many advantages is having the biggest concert hall in Switzerland, the Hallenstadion, with a capacity of around 15,000 spectators. Furthermore, the Zürich World Trade Centre is very close, providing a perfect place for additional events and press activities. It’s also extremely close to Zürich Airport and the base of Swiss broadcaster SRF, making the Hallenstadion a perfect venue that is both accessible for Eurovision fans and suitable for the Press Centre, Delegation Bubble, Eurovision Village, EuroClub, and all other side events. The city also meets the required hotel capacity.
You can read more about the potential host cities in our earlier post, “Welcome to the show: Venues in Geneva, Zürich, Basel and St. Gallen express interest in hosting Eurovision 2025.”
OLB’s top-level analysis of potential host cities
The Hallenstadion in Zürich is the biggest arena in the race with a max capacity of 15,000, with 13,000 usually available for concerts. Zürich is the largest city in Switzerland which may well put it as the frontrunner to host the massive event next year.
Basel‘s St. Jakobshalle is joint-second favourite to host Eurovision next year. Besides its massive arena there are also five halls that are suitable for press events and other Eurovision spaces.
It’s likely that Geneva will push the International Exhibition and Convention Center Palexpo as their host venue for next year’s Eurovision. The arena has seven halls, and 102,000 square metres of exhibition space. The arena is also close to Geneva International Airport which helps their chances further.
St. Gallen‘s Kantonalbank Hall is the outsider to host Eurovision. Although the venue is more than good enough to host, the small airport in the city may not be big enough to put it as a frontrunner.
So where do you want to go for Eurovision 2025? And which city do you think will win? Let us know down below…
