Final Assessment ESC 2025: Strong Outcome for Audience, Economy, and SRG

The Eurovision Song Contest 2025, with over 500,000 attendees in Basel and 166 million viewers worldwide, is now half a year past. The outcome is remarkably positive. Financially, SRG managed to keep its contribution within the planned budget. Regular budgets are allocated to finance such large- scale events, similar to world championships and Olympic Games. Due to the extraordinary scope of the ESC, an additional budget of 20 million Swiss francs was set aside to cover SRG's expenses. The final figures are in: Thanks to precise financial management and higher-than-expected revenues from sponsorship and ticketing, the actual additional costs amounted to only about 15 million Swiss francs, roughly 25% under budget.

The ESC also positively influences SRG's ongoing transformation. According to Susanne Wille, Director General of SRG, "For SRG, the ESC was also an innovation driver. New technologies, new approaches, and fresh ideas emerged around this project—and they remain. The ESC will continue to set the pace for our media organisation."

Renowned Awards for Strategy, Concepts, and Creative Achievement

The ESC also earned SRG accolades for communication and organisation: Numerous nominations recognised the creative, technical, and organisational accomplishments of the participants, notably the two lead producers Moritz Stadler and Reto Peritz. Moreover, SRG won several prestigious awards, including a Xaver Award for the event concept of the ESC City Handover & Semi-Final Draw in collaboration with the University of Applied Sciences of the Grisons, the EBU Excellence in Media Award, and the Golden Pen for concept and strategy. Hazel Brugger received the German Comedy Award for her ESC hosting. With ESC 2025, SRG established new benchmarks beyond national borders.

Strong Presence on Digital Channels

The significant social media resonance of the ESC granted SRG a robust digital presence. Approximately 1,000 pieces of content reached over 11 million people. Instagram achieved the most substantial impact with 8.1 million accounts reached, 173 videos on TikTok garnered over 2.3 million views, and LinkedIn reached nearly 920,000 people. Across all platforms, the content primarily reached a young audience, who appreciated SRG's social media efforts for diverse content and fast, authentic reporting.

Confirmed Social Value of the ESC

"From the outset, ESC 2025 was more than an international music competition for SRG and Basel as host city: it was meant to go down in history as an experience for all, and together we achieved that," emphasises Susanne Wille. Numerous projects for schoolchildren, seniors, students, and people with disabilities were implemented with partners. A local survey shows this aim was recognised by the public: Nearly three-quarters surveyed (72%) believe the ESC benefited numerous population groups. Particularly positive were the impacts on the local economy (81%), the image of Basel in Europe (79%) and Switzerland (72%), and the sense of community (71%). This confirms that the ESC moved Basel not only musically but also socially connected it. Additionally, three projects continue after their success at the ESC, including the vibration stage for people with hearing impairments.

Study Confirms Significant Economic Value

The ESC 2025 also had a positive economic impact. According to a value-added study by the Zurich School of Economics (HWZ) and Ticketcorner in collaboration with SRG, spending by the 90,000 ticket buyers generated an economic value of 91.2 million Swiss francs. Of this, 57.6 million Swiss francs remained secured in Switzerland: 25.8 million went towards accommodations and 18.4 million on travel. The study also shows that respondents know SRG's role as show organiser, especially for live broadcasts, and rate it positively. "SRG has demonstrated with the ESC that it can produce large-scale events at world-class levels. This has not only created social value but also significant economic value for the whole of Switzerland," says Oliver Niedermann, CEO of Ticketcorner.

Press Contact:

SRG SSR Media Office
Nik Leuenberger
medienstelle.srg@srgssr.ch
Tel. 058 136 21 21

Image rights: SRG SSR
Photographer: Barbara Müller

Editor's note: Image rights belong to the respective publisher. Image rights: SRG SSR / Photographer: Barbara Müller