Nearly half of all people in Switzerland hold a negative view of hosting the Eurovision Song Contest next year, according to survey results published by the Blick newspaper on Saturday.
The representative poll of almost 25,000 people found that 49% are clearly or somewhat opposed to hosting the music competition, while 46% are clearly or somewhat in favour. Five percent do not yet have an opinion.
But like it or not 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.
The location has yet to be determined. Zurich and Geneva have put in applications, while the Swiss capital Bern and the nearby city of Biel put in a joint bid to host.
The Blick survey found approval was strongest among people with a higher level of education and left-wing political views than among other population groups.
Supporters of the right-wing SVP are 74% against Eurovision being held in Switzerland.
According to Blick, this could also have something to do with the fact that Nemo identifies as non-binary and prefers they/them pronouns in English.
Nemo's triumph on one of Europe's biggest stages fuelled debate over whether a third gender should be able to be registered in Switzerland.
