ESC duel between the Alpine countries Switzerland versus Austria - a clear race (also) off the piste

Austria has taken over from Switzerland and the familiar Alpine duel is already underway: compare, tease, score points. In terms of the ESC: who presented better, Basel or Vienna? And who managed to conjure up the more memorable evening out of glitter, kitsch and folklore? Not only the BBC has a clear opinion.

As soon as the ESC starts in Vienna, you feel like you're right back in the middle of the well-known duel between nations. Just not with snow and skis, but with wind machines and presentation cards.

In fact, the rivalry between Austria and Switzerland has been going strong for years, and not just in alpine skiing. Although the two Alpine countries like to claim that they don't care about the comparison - internally, they still run the table.

No Hazel Brugger in Vienna

Austria opened the evening as befits its status with the Philharmonic Orchestra - because in Vienna, even at the ESC, they obviously want to remind everyone that high culture is part of the basic service.

Switzerland took a much more relaxed approach. Less grand gesture, more dry self-irony. Or to put it another way: Austria has the philharmonic orchestra. Switzerland had Hazel Brugger. And that's where the difference begins.

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"What a stupid game"

While Basel glided easily through the evening last year, Vienna clung more tightly to protocol. The moderation duo Victoria Swarovski and Michael Ostrowski do an okay job, but nothing more. The English is bumpy, as are the sequences. And a direct comparison shows how strong Basel was last year with Hazel Brugger and Sandra Studer.

The Swiss presenters were not just hosts, but part of the actual show. Dry, fast, absurd, sometimes slightly chaotic - but always with perfect timing. Swarovski and Ostrowski, on the other hand, came across as insecure, almost a little anxious.

Visible, for example, during the running gag of incorporating as many former winning titles as possible into the presentation. The idea behind it - deliberately original. The effect: rather contrived.

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On the BBC, ESC legend Graham Norton commented dryly on the failed gag: "What a stupid game." And the explanatory clips with Swarovski as "Professor ESC" also fail to convince the snarky TV Brit - "let's get back to the music please."

Mountains, mountains, mountains

It is also interesting to see how differently the two countries present themselves. Austria shows Austria as you would expect internationally: panorama, operettas - and above all: snow-covered mountains. Lots and lots of snow-covered mountains. Over and over again.

Beautiful to look at? Absolutely. But also rather one-dimensional.

Switzerland, on the other hand, presented a more varied picture of itself last year - city life, lakes, culture, cuisine, a modern Switzerland alongside the Alpine backdrop.

Vienna, on the other hand, presented the public with winter postcards for long stretches. And often with astonishingly bad weather.

Small wobbles included

In fact, at some point you ask yourself: where exactly is the famous Viennese charm in the ESC from Austria? Where are Mozart, Schwarzenegger or at least the Herminator walking through the picture with a Kaiserschmarrn? Especially as Billy Joel, with his Viennese family history, appears to be a foreign body.

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Vienna Basel also lags behind technically. During the Czech contribution, the picture suddenly freezes, later a steadycam operator runs through the picture - definitely not part of the choreography. Basel did not have such organizational problems last year.

Or, to use the Alpine skiing comparison once again: The Swiss ESC performed like Marco Odermatt last year - confident, fast, almost flawless. Vienna, on the other hand, is more like Manuel Feller: always close to failure.

The thing with the "copy paste"

The comparison was a little tricky even before the final. The Austrian interval act in the semi-final - a musical comparison between Austria and Australia - immediately reminded many viewers of Basel's celebrated "Made in Switzerland".

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It didn't take long for terms such as "Copy Paste from Switzerland" or "Made in Switzerland by Temu" to appear on social media. This is not entirely out of the blue.

Swiss secret weapons worked

But let's leave the church in the village, or rather the glitter in the costume: Austria certainly didn't put on a subterranean ESC. But in comparison with Basel, it has the short end of the stick.

With Brugger, Studer and Hunziker, Switzerland had secret weapons who developed a great dynamic together. Vienna, on the other hand, remained pale for long stretches. It was almost as if they didn't trust their own wit.

In retrospect, the Swiss ESC therefore emerged victorious in the national duel. Or, to stay with alpine skiing: Basel set the best time - Vienna only just made it into the points.

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