Music City of Zurich spends "mid five-figure sum" on ESC

On Tuesday, the city of Zurich revealed how much money it spent on the bid for the Eurovision Song Contest. It was a "mid five-figure sum". The city did not want to give a more precise figure.

Last Friday, SRG announced that Zurich would receive "zero points" in the race for the ESC. The bid from Bern/Biel was also eliminated on Friday. This means that either Basel or Geneva will be awarded the music competition.

The reasons given by the city of Zurich for its elimination last Friday were that the other cities had made an offer that would have taken more of the burden off SRG. However, a higher amount than CHF 20 million would have made a referendum necessary in the city of Zurich.

In addition, there were threats of a referendum from ESC opponents, which were much louder in Zurich and Bern/Biel than in Basel and Geneva. According to the city, SRG wanted to avoid a referendum.

For its part, the SRG cited the great enthusiasm in Geneva and Basel as the reason. In Zurich and Bern/Biel there was less evidence that they really wanted the event. SRG will announce which city will host the ESC at the end of August.