In Switzerland, the canton of Basel-Stadt will vote today on whether to allow the funding granted to the local government for the organization of the Eurovision Song Contest. The singing competition is scheduled to be held in the city of Basel next spring on May 17.
The main target of the referendum, engineered by the ultra-conservative EDU party, is the 35 million Swiss francs, or just under 38 million euros, loan granted from public funds to organize the event. The party also criticizes Eurovision as a violation of Christian values and an anti-Jewish event that promotes the cause of sexual minorities.
Switzerland got Eurovision to organize after the Swiss artist Nemo won the competition held in Malmö in May this year.