BASEL, Switzerland, Nov 24, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Voters in the Swiss city of
Basel on Sunday comfortably approved putting nearly $40 million into hosting
the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest, according to intermediate results shortly
after the polls closed.

According to the partial count -- with most people voting in advance by post
-- 66.4 percent of voters in the Basel city region backed putting taxpayers'
money into staging next year's Eurovision. Without the host city funding, the
TV extravaganza, which draws a hug global television audience, would have
been drastically scaled back.