Switzerland's Host City candidates: Geneva

On Friday 30 August at 10:00 CEST we'll be announcing where in Switzerland we'll be headed to for the 69th Eurovision Song Contest in 2025. Will it be Basel? Or will it be Geneva?

Before we find out, we're shining a little spotlight over both, to get us all hyped up about our options. 

You can discover more about Basel right here. In the event that it's Geneva, let's work out if, somewhere between the 0s and 1s, here's where we might find our kingdom come...

If you're making the journey to Geneva, then brush up on your French, mon amour. Why? Because French is the main language spoken there, évidemment!

Geneva is situated on the border with France, in the west of Switzerland. Its nearest major city is the French metropolis of Lyon. And it's also not that far from the Host City of the Eurovision Song Contest 2022; a car journey from Geneva to Turin in Italy would take you around three hours. 

The city is served by Geneva Airport and is connected by Geneva Airport railway station to both the Swiss Federal Railways network and the French SNCF network. 

Once you're in Geneva you can make your merry way around the city via train, tram, bus or even mouette. What's a mouette, might you ask? Well, a mouette is the shuttle boat that can take you all across Lake Geneva. Options, we love options.

Lake Geneva is the largest lake in Western Europe, and as well as having that incredible feat of nature on its door step, the city also lies idyllically between majestic Alpine peaks and lush vineyards. 

That great big eruption of water permanently gushing out from the middle of Lake Geneva? That's Jet d'Eau. You'll be humming Il Pleut De L'or in no time.

Geneva locals and visitors get to enjoy an enviable array of possibilities when it comes to having a wander around the city; from bustling quays and lakeside promenades to countless parks and lively side streets in the old town.

Considered to be Switzerland’s most international city, Geneva is where the United Nations’ European headquarters are based, as well as the Red Cross and, of course, the European Broadcasting Union.

The city of Geneva is also a centre for culture and history. It is regarded as the home of watchmaking, for example. And over the decades it's become famous for the many chocolatiers that have made the city their base. 

Geneva is also the home of the internet; the actual world wide web was invented here. British scientist Tim Berners-Lee came up with the idea in 1989, while working at CERN; yet another international organization based in Geneva. 

So, the next time you play The Social Network Song, some of your gratitude can be directed towards Geneva. 

You can listen to all 37 songs of Eurovision 2024 via your favourite streaming service or watch the music videos on our YouTube channel.

Don't forget to download our app (for iOS / Android), sign up to the official Eurovision Song Contest newsletter, and subscribe to the official podcast!