With its exposed concrete, sharp lines and overhanging roof, the St Jakobshalle, an icon of 1970s Brutalism in Switzerland on the outskirts of Basel, will provide a stark contrast to the bright colours and flaming-piano pyrotechnics of the Eurovision Song Contest when it plays host to the event from May 10 to 17.
Its cold concrete and unwelcoming facade is representative of why so many travellers heading south to Italy or onwards to the Swiss Alps speed through without giving the city a second glance.
Basel’s industrial legacy still looms large. With a long history as a centre for textiles and chemicals industries, the city is often associated with an industrial skyline, grey highways and smoking chimneys.
But Basel’s image is being redefined. The Rhine, a river once tainted by industry, is now clean enough to swim in.
Yves Parrat, chemist with the local health department, says the water quality is regularly checked at three different points during the bathing season.