Not long after Basel, Switzerland, was selected as the next host of the annual Eurovision Song Contest, hometown pharma Novartis is chiming in.
The Basel-based drugmaker has signed on as an official partner of the 2025 competition, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) announced Thursday.
The annual Eurovision contest, now in its 69th year, commissions original songs from dozens of countries across Europe, Asia and Australia, with participating countries casting votes for their competitors throughout the process to determine a winner. This year’s competition was held in Malmö, Sweden, and saw Switzerland’s entry beat out 36 other songs to take the top prize, setting up the country to host the 2025 contest. Eurovision 2025 is slated to wrap up in a grand final in Basel on May 17.
According to the EBU’s announcement, as a partner of the 2025 contest, Novartis will use the platform “to highlight science, healthcare and innovation; to celebrate talent and diversity within their workforce; support their home country; and to promote a sense of belonging for the people and the communities they serve.”
The Big Pharma is still hammering out what, exactly, that will look like. When asked for more information about Novartis’ involvement in the Eurovision contest, a spokesperson told Fierce Pharma Marketing in an emailed statement, “We are in the process of considering our engagement plans in the months leading up to and during the contest, and we will share more details when they’re available.”
“Our mission is to improve and extend people’s lives. By sponsoring a significant cultural event like the Eurovision Song Contest, Novartis aims to promote the importance of health to a wide audience and support the shared theme of bringing people together,” the spokesperson said.
Novartis isn’t the first drugmaker to take advantage of a major international event being held in its hometown. Earlier this year, Paris-based Sanofi launched what it described as the “biggest corporate activation” in its history as a sponsor of the Summer Olympics in the City of Light.
Meanwhile, Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly inked a local deal of its own this year, joining the WNBA’s Indiana Fever as a jersey patch sponsor and health equity partner. Lilly will also follow in Sanofi’s footsteps to represent its home country at the next Summer Olympics after inking a partnership with the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games that earned it a spot on a council of commercial partners.