Eurovision opens with lively parade through Basel

Big ESC parade reaches Kleinbasel Keystone-SDA

In glorious May weather, Basel opened the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) with a lively parade through the city. Tens of thousands of people lined the streets along a 1.3-kilometre-long turquoise carpet from the town hall to the exhibition center.

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The national delegations were accompanied by marching bands and Guggenmusik bands as well as stylised juke boxes from which each respective national song was played.

Half an hour before the start of the parade, many thousands of onlookers had already gathered, especially on the Middle Bridge – including numerous people with Palestinian flags. They initially behaved peacefully and quietly, and there were no confrontations with the omnipresent police presence.

Beforehand, police officers had searched the route for explosives, some of them with dogs.

The Eurovision Song Contest connects cultures and honors the diversity of Europe, said Basel’s government president Conradin Cramer in his speech before welcoming all 37 ESC acts individually. The excitement is building immeasurably, and the entire city is filled with vibrant energy, Cramer said.

The ceremony cost almost one million Swiss francs. Basel is contributing a total of CHF37.5 million (CHF44.4 million) to the Eurovision Song Contest.

The actual Eurovision competition begins on Tuesday with the first semifinal. The countries with the five largest broadcasters automatically qualify for the final, as does host Switzerland. The other 31 countries must compete in the semifinals for the remaining 20 final spots.

Sweden is tipped as the favorite. The three boys, who are actually from Finland, joke about the joys of going to the sauna. “If we win, the Finns could claim it as a victory, but Sweden has to pay for hosting the next Eurovision Song Contest,” they said cheerfully upon arriving at the Eurovision Village.

Translated from German by DeepL

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