ESC 2025 in Basel Paola Felix: "Being on stage is the best birthday present"
Good news for ESC fans: there are new tickets for the "Arena plus". This was announced by the organizers on Monday afternoon. Paola Felix will also be on stage.
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- ESC 2025 kicks off with a spectacular opening event including the longest Turquoise Carpet in ESC history. The ceremony will be accompanied by typical Swiss elements such as alphorn players and the Basel carnival.
- There are new ticket options for fans via the "Ticketcorner-Fansale" as well as additional Arena-plus tickets, as the previous contingents were quickly sold out.
- ESC legends Paola Felix, Peter Reber, Luca Hänni and Gjon's Tears will perform together, with Paola Felix describing the show as a special gift for her 75th birthday.
The ESC organizers will meet in Basel on Monday afternoon to reveal the final details and highlights of the 69th edition of Eurovision. Among other things, tickets will be available again. From this week, more tickets can be sold and purchased via the "Ticketcorner-Fansale". Tickets are even available again for the Grand Final Public Viewing Show.
The organizers are working flat out in the background. The keys to the St. Jakobshalle in Basel were handed over last week and the venue is currently a huge construction site. The countdown is on, there are still five weeks until the final show.
Executive producer Moritz Stadler says of the construction work: "We still have millions of problems, but nothing we didn't expect."
Longest carpet in ESC history at the opening ceremony
"We are working 24/7 in three shifts," explains ESC Executive Producer Reto Peritz about the start of the construction work. The stage will be ready in time for the rehearsals, he promises.
Basel is already in ESC mode for the ESC big bang on the weekend of May 10 and 11. On May 10, the Eurovision Village will open in the middle of the MesseQuartier (Messe Basel, Hall 1) with live concerts, public viewings and a food mile. The opening is set to be a first highlight, promises ESC project manager Beat Läuchli: "We are creating something unprecedented. We are building the longest, most spectacular Turquoise Carpet in ESC history."
The event starts at the Ratshaus and continues on foot and in vintage streetcars towards the exhibition grounds to the Eurovision Village. Dancers, techno acts and alphorn players will accompany the opening procession. The Basel carnival will also play a role.
Beat Läuchli has a tip on the best place to watch the ceremony: on the Mittlere Brücke.
Show acts and Swissness in the show?
The three shows will all have a different focus, say show managers Nicole Simmen, Head Writer Show, and Marco Krämer Senior Show Producer.
Show highlights are still being kept under wraps - these will be announced on social media in the next few days. The hosts are currently working with presenter script number 15; Hazel Brugger has made a bet with the show creators that she, Michelle Hunziker and Sandra Studer will be on stage.
Yves Schifferle, Head of Show ESC, on the TV final show: "It will be a very international show with a focus on Switzerland."
Swiss ESC heroes will be part of the show
"I went to the 1969 ESC in Madrid completely carefree," Paola Felix remembers her participation. She came fifth with the song "Bonjour Bonjour".
"Taking part in the ESC is like taking part in the Olympics, you'll never forget it. It's nice to organize something so peaceful in these times," says Peter Reber, formerly part of Peter, Sue & Marc.
Paola Felix will be on stage. "All good things come in threes, I've already been to the ESC twice for Switzerland. The third time - that's my biggest present for my 75th birthday this year."
Paola Felix has retired from show business, but: "I'm happy to take the microphone again for the Eurovision Song Contest."
No other formation has represented Switzerland at the Eurovision Song Contest as often as Peter, Sue & Marc. Peter Reber, Sue Schell and Marc Dietrich competed for the ESC title in 1971, 1976, 1979 and 1981. And they were pretty successful: they came fourth twice, laying the foundations for their music career in Switzerland.
"The Eurovision bubble was amazing, I was totally happy with fourth place. We struggled to make it to the final show," recalls Bernese singer Luca Hänni.
Paola Felix, Peter Reber, Luca Hänni and Gjon's Tears will be on stage together. Peter Reber promises: "It will be fantastic!"
Paola, Peter, Sue & Marc, Luca Hänni and Gjon's Tears sing a medley
From alphorn to avant-garde - the ESC 2025 builds a bridge between tradition and modernity. True to the motto "United by Music", the opening and interval acts of ESC 2025 combine musical genres and perspectives with surprising moments and a mix of Swiss identity and international pop culture.
As the first of many other national and international interval acts, the powerful homage to Swiss ESC history was announced today in Basel.
They will be performing together on stage for the first time: Paola, Peter, Sue & Marc, Luca Hänni and Gjon's Tears - in a medley that celebrates Switzerland's musical ESC heritage. Tribute will also be paid to the historic moment that made it all possible: Nemo's impressive victory in Malmö in 2024, which brought the ESC back to Switzerland.
