The UEFA Women's Euro 2025 exceeded all expectations and set numerous records. It was the best-attended Women's European Championship ever: 29 of the 31 matches were sold out, with a total of over 650,000 spectators watching the games in the stadiums. New heights were also reached in terms of TV and streaming figures, with a total audience of over 500 million worldwide. Another highlight were the popular fan marches, which attracted a total of 95,000 fans, including around 25,000 in Basel alone.

Basel itself set several records: it recorded the highest attendance for a women's football match in Switzerland, and 17,419 German fans travelled to the quarter-final between Germany and France, creating an impressive atmosphere.

More than just football

UEFA Women's Euro 2025 was much more than a sporting competition – it became a social event with great appeal. The fan zones with their numerous activities made the tournament a celebration for everyone, delighting fans, families and the local population alike.

The Soccer Court offered a diverse programme of activities with six inclusive offerings and 25 programmes specifically for girls and women. Around 5,000 participants completed the popular ball course, while sponsors such as AXA, Heineken, Lidl, Visa, Pepsico and Adidas contributed to the tournament atmosphere with their activations. A special focus was placed on inclusion: activities for deaf people, barrier-free access and special football activities ensured greater participation.

The connection between football and culture was also emphasised: eleven concerts, five film evenings and the exhibition ‘Pokale zum Träumen’ (Trophies to Dream About) underlined the event's character.

Highlights and success factors

However, the focus was on women's football, which thrilled the audience with its dynamism and enthusiasm. The Swiss team also played a decisive role in creating a fantastic atmosphere. The fan marches proved to be a crowd puller, with the march involving Dutch and French fans, in which 10,000 people took part, being the highlight. The fan zones combined sport, culture and entertainment to create a unique overall experience.

Figures for the tournament month in Basel

• Visitor numbers Fan experiences in Basel: around 500,000
  • of which at St. Jakob Park: 170,000 (> 34,000 per game)
  • of which at the fan marches: approx. 25,000 Visitor numbers
  • of which in the fan zones: around 300,000
• 230 operating hours for the two fan zones
• 11 concerts and 17 DJ sets
• 5 film evenings and 12 freestyle shows
• Over 10,000 visitors to the ‘Pokale zum Träumen’ (Trophies to Dream About) exhibition at the Basel Historical Museum
• 5 footballs and 10 delegations at the ‘Bridge Kick’ art intervention
• 5,500 registrations for the ball course
• Nine discussions and 13 live podcasts, as well as four programme items from fan communities

Sustainable mobility: travelling by public transport

Thanks to close cooperation with public transport companies, impressive results were also achieved in the area of mobility. To ensure that fans arrived on time for the five matches at St. Jakob Park and got home again, BVB and BLT organised around 700 additional tram and bus services. The service was supplemented by over 80 shuttle trains between the SBB railway station and the St. Jakob stop and over 30 extra trains from Basel to all parts of Switzerland. All visitors were on their way home no later than 50 minutes after the final whistle; those who stayed longer used the extended night network.

The trination public transport ticket included in the match ticket ensured that the majority of fans travelled by public transport – even from abroad: the Grand Est region and Baden-Württemberg offered extra services to Mulhouse and Freiburg respectively. The car parks showed that only a few people came by car – in the advertised Horburg car park, only 30 to 150 of the 800 spaces were occupied, and thousands of spaces were empty in the public car parks.

Security: a positive outcome

From the perspective of the emergency services, UEFA Women's Euro 2025 was a calm and peaceful event. The Basel-Stadt cantonal police were on duty together with the ambulance service and the Basel-Stadt professional fire brigade, as well as the Basel-Landschaft police. As part of the tri-national cooperation, police officers from our neighbouring countries France and Germany were also present in the city.

The main focus was on accompanying fan marches and ensuring that traffic flowed as smoothly as possible. Despite the increased volume of traffic, traffic restrictions remained minimal. Even on the hot opening day, the ambulance service did not report any unusual incidents. The overall assessment is positive: the only noteworthy event was that there were no noteworthy events.

Support from volunteers

Around 500 volunteers from all over Switzerland and neighbouring countries were involved in the UEFA Women's Euro 2025 in Basel. They worked more than 3,000 shifts on match days, in the fan zones, at information points, in transport and accreditation. Without their commitment, it would not have been possible to stage this major event to such a high standard.

Legacy: a sustainable foundation

In addition to the major sporting event, it was a key concern of the government of the canton of Basel-Stadt that UEFA Women's Euro 2025 should trigger sustainable developments. As part of the legacy programme, the focus was particularly on promoting girls and women in football.

A key component was the mobile soccer court, which has already been booked 754 times since July 2024 – in addition to numerous other uses during free time slots. In organised football in north-western Switzerland, there has been an increase in the number of female players, coaches and referees: Since January 2025, the number of licensed female players has risen from 2,218 to 2,525 (+14%), the number of female coaches from 198 to 225 (+14%), and the number of female referees has doubled from 7 to 14.

The goal remains the same: to double the numbers in all three areas by the end of 2027. This would lay the foundation for promoting greater participation, diversity and visibility of women in football in the long term.

Interim conclusion from Basel Tourism

The UEFA Women's Euro 2025 also had a noticeable positive effect on tourism in Basel. Basel Tourism expects an increase in overnight stays of 5 to 10 per cent in July 2025 compared to the already very strong same month last year. On match days, hotel occupancy rates were between 85 and 90 per cent. Restaurants and bars also benefited from the high number of visitors, especially around the fan zones.

Basel Tourism actively used the international stage: over 30 media representatives and influencers from relevant target markets were looked after. Activities on the city's own social media channels reached over 1.5 million people, and the joint campaign with Switzerland Tourism achieved a reach of almost 10 million impressions in Germany – with a clearly positive impact on the city of Basel's profile.

An important factor in this success was the broad involvement of local industry partners: over 250 businesses actively participated in the welcome culture, supported by the toolkit developed by Basel Tourism, which included 50,000 decorative items that were distributed. In preparatory ‘Get Ready’ events, 800 participants from the hotel, catering, retail, transport and cultural sectors were trained.

The special offers were also very well received: around 600 guests took part in free city tours, and up to 350 pieces of information were provided per match day at the pop-up Rhine swimming event. Additional information points at central hubs and the Host City app ensured comprehensive digital support for guests during the tournament.

Thanks to our supporters

Special thanks go to ambassadors Coumba Sow, Seline Röthlisberger and Jasmin Hirschi, as well as Jean Tinguely's cultural ambassador ‘Klamauk’. We would also like to thank the more than 500 volunteers and local supporters such as the Tinguely Museum, EuroAirport, Basel Tourism and Telebasel for their valuable support.