Baseline
Immediately after Nemo’s victory at the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest, Basel announced its intention to bid to host the world’s largest music competition. Compared to the frontrunners Zurich and Geneva, Basel was clearly labelled as the underdog.
Together with the project team in Basel, we had to develop a comprehensive and convincing application – within only six weeks. The task was to convince the decision-makers at SRG and the EBU, as well as Basel’s politicians and the general public, of the advantages of a candidacy.
Solution
The development of an integrated application and communication strategy was at the heart of the campaign. The slogan “Crossing Borders” perfectly epitomized Basel’s unique position as a cosmopolitan border city and shaped the narrative that the city was not applying alone, but in the heart of Europe with the support of its French and German neighbors.
Targeted stakeholder management, the adoption of an important political resolution, the landing page “ESC come to Basel” and a captivating application video secured broad support from political, economic and social spheres. In addition to the layout and editorial of the 150-page application dossier, creative ideas such as the concept Arena Plus were also included in the campaign.
Result
We succeeded in submitting more than just a dossier: the creativity, the passion, and the determination of Basel were effectively showcased. The campaign credibly demonstrated why Basel’s values are such a good fit for the ESC and, conversely, why the ESC belongs in Basel.
On August 30, Basel was awarded the rights to host the 69th Eurovision Song Contest by SRG and the EBU. Basel was able to differentiate itself from the strong competition, as the quote from SRG spokesperson Edi Estermann shows: “[…] it was the sum of all criteria, where Basel […] submitted a great and very personable, very committed dossier”.
Any questions? Want to find out more about our expertise? Get in touch with me by e-mail
