This is Beirut - Switzerland

Eurovision Returns to Switzerland: A Legacy of Song Evolution

This is Beirut, 16/05 15:30 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Eurovision Switzerland Europe Music Culture Art

Switzerland is hosting Eurovision for the third time, with the extravaganza a world away from when it staged the inaugural competition in 1956—and also from 1989 when Celine Dion starred. The 2025 edition on May 17 in Basel will draw an expected TV audience of around 160 million, with viewers worldwide casting their votes. Here is a look back ...

Eurovision 2025: Spotlight on the Second Semifinal’s 16 Competitors

This is Beirut, 15/05 14:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Eurovision 2025 Music Semi-Final 2 Switzerland Culture

Sixteen countries are competing in the Eurovision Song Contest's second semifinal on Thursday, with viewers deciding which 10 go through to the grand final. Saturday's showpiece event takes place at the St Jakobshalle in the Swiss city of Basel. Ten countries have already qualified from Tuesday's first semifinal. The so-called ...

Eurovision 2025 Kicks Off in Basel With Parade and High Hopes

This is Beirut, 09/05 10:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Eurovision 2025 Music Television Parade Switzerland Culture

The Eurovision Song Contest comes shimmering into Basel on Sunday with a glitzy parade kicking off a week of high-octane revelry building up to the May 17 grand final. The Swiss city is pulling out the stops as it hosts the 69th edition of the light-hearted TV spectacular that celebrates kitsch and pushes the boundaries of taste. While Europop ...

Swiss Ban on Hamas Comes Into Force May 15

This is Beirut, 30/04 12:55 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Hamas Israel Palestine Switzerland

A Swiss ban on the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas will come into force on May 15, the federal government said Wednesday following a parliamentary vote at the end of 2024. The government's political and security committees submitted a motion to ban Hamas in October 2023, after the group's deadly attack on Israel that month, said a government ...

Sweden Goes into Eurovision as Punters' Favorite

This is Beirut, 17/04 14:11 - Reading : 6 minute(s)

Music Eurovision Award Television Switzerland Sweden

Eurovision is the world's biggest talent show, featuring 37 national entries, but one country seems to regularly dominate the conversation and the winners' podium: Sweden. With a month to go before the grand finale in Basel on May 17, anything could happen. But Sweden, which has already won the glitzy glamfest seven times - tied with ...

From Bold Canvases to Shattered Glass: An Overview with Ghazi Baker and Simon Berger

Lea Mehanna, 05/03 17:00 - Reading : less than a minute

Culture Art Lebanon Switzerland Visual

Ghazi Baker, the first Lebanese artist at the Rijksmuseum, merges architectural discipline with the grotesque, while Swiss-German visual artist Simon Berger captivates the world with his precision in transforming shattered glass into stunning portraits using only a hammer.

Iran Reports Swiss National Accused of Spying Committed Suicide in Prison

This is Beirut, 09/01 18:30 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Iran Human Rights Switzerland

Iran's judiciary said a Swiss national accused of spying was found dead in prison in the eastern city of Semnan on Thursday, adding that he had taken his own life. "This morning, a Swiss citizen committed suicide in Semnan prison," the judiciary's Mizan Online website said, adding that he had been "arrested by security agencies for espionage and ...

Basel Secures Eurovision 2025 Despite Controversy and Costs

This is Beirut, 2024-11-25 10:30 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Basel Eurovision Switzerland Music

Basel voters on Sunday overwhelmingly approved the city putting up nearly $40 million towards hosting next year's Eurovision Song Contest, meaning the continental TV extravaganza will go ahead with its customary full-on razzmatazz. Intermediate results showed 66.4 percent of voters in the Swiss city backed putting taxpayers' cash into staging ...

Swiss Court Rules Yoko Ono Owns John Lennon’s Watch

This is Beirut, 2024-11-15 18:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

John Lennon Court Switzerland

Yoko Ono is the rightful owner of a watch she gifted her husband, John Lennon, shortly before his death, Switzerland's supreme court ruled Thursday after it resurfaced at an auction house. The highly rare Patek Philippe 2499 timepiece was given to the former Beatle on October 9, 1980, for his 40th birthday, two months before he was shot. The ...

Geneva Airport Strike Ends After Reaching an Agreement

This Is Beirut, 2023-12-24 14:24 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

airport Dnata Dubai Geneva Strike Switzerland UAE

A number of flights from Geneva airport were delayed and some cancelled during the holiday rush Sunday, as dozens of ground staff went on strike over a wage dispute before an agreement was reached. The workers began their strike at 4:00 AM (3:00 GMT) to protest against the conditions provided by their employer, the Dubai National Air Travel Agency ...

Switzerland