GENEVA, Oct 26, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Switzerland's northern Basel is expected to 
hold a referendum next month on the millions required to host the 2025 
Eurovision Song Contest, after opponents on Saturday presented enough 
signatures to put the issue to a vote.

Swiss singer Nemo's 2024 Eurovision victory gave Switzerland the right to 
host next year's event, with a huge global audience guaranteed.

Basel in August beat several large Swiss cities in their bid to host the 
glitzy annual TV extravaganza, but the financial demands have raised 
objections.

Swiss voters are used to having a direct say on how their taxes are spent, 
and some were bristling at the potential costs and hassle of bringing the 
Eurovision circus to town.

In September, the small, ultra-conservative, Christian fundamentalist Federal 
Democratic Union of Switzerland (EDU) announced it aimed to bring a 
referendum against coughing up the tens of millions needed to put on the 
show.

And on Saturday, it showed up at the Basel City Hall with 4,203 signatures 
attached to its demand for a vote against granting the required 37.5-million 
Swiss franc ($43.3-million) credit, Swiss media reported.

That was more than double the number of signatures required to push through a 
referendum in Basel-Stadt Canton.

The regional government still needs to verify the signatures, but given the 
high number, the issue is now expected to be put to a vote on November 24, 
the next national day of voting under Switzerland's famous direct democratic 
system.

EDU has reportedly in the past described Eurovision as a "propaganda platform 
for homosexuals" and has expressed concerns that the show promotes "the 
occult".

During Saturday's event, EDU president Daniel Frischknecht insisted that the 
region could find far better ways to invest its money, the Keystone-ATS news 
agency reported.

The party insisted that it had nothing against music, nor against the sexual 
orientation of the participants, but maintained Eurovision was pushing a 
political ideology.

Frischknecht cited anti-Semitic threats against the participant from Israel 
and the "Satanist" performance by Irish artist Bambie Thug during the 2024 
edition held in Malmo, Sweden in May.

The EDU is meanwhile unlikely to garner much support from other political 
parties in Basel, since the Eurovision budget was overwhelmingly approved 
last month by the regional parliament.