Deadline day arrives for Swiss cities hoping to host Eurovision

Max Mutzke performs "Forever Strong" at the rehearsal for the "Eurovision Song Contest - The German Final 2024". Christoph Soeder/dpa

Geneva, Zurich, Bern or somewhere else? The deadline for cities in Switzerland to submit applications to host next year's Eurovision Song Contest is Friday.

Switzerland will be the site of the annual over-the-top musical extravaganza in 2025 thanks to pop artist Nemo, who took top prize at this year's competition in Malmö, Sweden with "The Code," a cheerful track about gender-nonconformity.

Because Nemo won for Switzerland, the linguistically diverse and famously neutral alpine nation gets to have the next show, which pits performers from across the continent and even further afield.

But the location has yet to be determined.

Geneva and the city of Zurich are known to have thrown their hats into the ring for the contest, famed for its outlandish performances and catchy three-minute songs.

The Swiss capital Bern and the nearby city of Biel, where Nemo was born, put in a joint bid to host.

However, the official list of candidate cities is being kept secret by the Swiss public broadcaster SRG, which helping to organize the event.

The winner will not be announced until the end of August at the earliest.

The pros and cons will be weighed up for each applicant.

Geneva would hold the contest at the huge Palexpo exhibition centre, conveniently located near the airport.

Zurich is offering its indoor stadium and exhibition centre, as well as a fan zone directly on Lake Zurich.

Bern and Biel want to share in the fun. Public events in the lead up to the grand final would take place on Biel's Lake Neuchâtel, including viewing parties.

In Bern, 40 kilometres away, the actual competition would take place at an exhibition centre.

A bid was also being considered by Basel.

Potential applications from other cities are not known, at least not publicly.