The first wave of 42,000 tickets for the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest sold out within minutes on Wednesday, organisers have said.
The Swiss city of Basel will host the glitzy annual television extravaganza at the St Jakobshalle indoor arena, with the semi-finals on 13 and 15 May, and the final on 17 May.
The first wave of tickets for the live shows sold out within seven minutes, while those for the preview shows sold out in 20 minutes, host broadcaster SRG said.
Fans who pre-registered for tickets but missed out on Wednesday will have further chances to be in the arena in future sales waves.
Tickets for the various shows range from 40 to 350 Swiss francs (€42-€370).
"We were overwhelmed by the huge demand," ESC 2025 co-executive producers Reto Peritz and Moritz Stadler said in a statement.
"It is moving to see how much the Eurovision Song Contest inspires people in our country and all over the world."
Swiss singer Nemo's 2024 Eurovision victory in Malmö, Sweden gave Switzerland the right to host this year's edition.
Israel's participation in last year's event, in the midst of the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, attracted pro-Palestinian demonstrations.
Israeli competitor Eden Golan had to change her lyrics over their apparent references to the deadly Hamas attack on 7 October, 2023.
A survivor of that attack will represent Israel in Basel.
When Hamas militants killed over 370 people at the Nova music festival, Yuval Raphael survived by hiding under a pile of bodies. She said she would be ready to face the kind of hostility Golan did.
Around 36,000 fans without golden tickets for the arena will be able to flock to the St Jakob-Park football stadium across the street to watch the final on giant screens.
Ticket sales for the stadium event open on Thursday morning, with tickets costing 55 to 128 Swiss francs (€58-€135).
The arena stage design is inspired by Switzerland's mountains and linguistic diversity, while the signature music for the show combines yodelling, a Basel drum corps, dulcimers, and alphorns.
"We've created a bold, high-energy track, which will prepare the audience for an unforgettable experience with its pumping beats and surprising musical effects," said art director Artur Deyneuve.
Moldova pulled out ahead of Tuesday's semi-final draw for financial reasons and the lack of a strong enough entrant.
Fifteen countries were drawn in the first semi-final and 16 in the second. Ireland will be in the first half of the second semi-final on Thursday 15 May.
The top 10 go through from each semi to join hosts Switzerland and the so-called Big Five - Britain, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain - broadcasters in the final.
Ireland's Eurovision entry will be chosen from - in alphabetical order - Adgy, Bobbi Arlo, EMMY, Samantha Mumba, NIYL, and Reylta on the Late Late Show Eurosong Special on Friday 7 February.
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Source: AFP
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