Swiss City of Basel will enter party mode this weekend as it prepares to welcome the Eurovision Song Contest.

Switzerland has been hosting the last contest since Celine Dion won in 1988, so it's been a long wait for the famous turquoise rug of Eurovision.

Switzerland held the Eurovision in Lugano in 1956, but records since Dion won in Dublin are mixed together.

Between 2007 and 2010, and between 2015 and 2018, his entries were not even eligible for the finals. Swiss singer Nemo finally won the code last year.

Perhaps because of this, Basel's determination to make this game memorable, is all the right reasons. Its turquoise carpet at 1.3 km (0.8 mi) will be the longest time on Eurovision, extending from Basel City Hall to the Rhine and all the way to Eurovision Village.

Conradin Cramer, head of the Basel government, believes that his city has only 175,000 residents, a natural home for Eurovision's estimated 500,000 visitors.

He said Basel is the "heart of Europe" because of its borders with France and Germany. He pointed out that the city has a long cultural tradition. Basel welcomed them when other cities in medieval Europe suppressed free thinkers.

Therefore, Basel's geographical location and history of tolerance and European television networks with inclusive and diverse traditions are "the perfect match".

The match in Malmo last year attracted thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters and Basel is expected to further protests against the war in Gaza.

Police have not released their management plan yet, but say everyone should have the right to express their opinions as long as they stay within the law and do not risk the safety of others.

Throughout the competition, they said 1,300 officers would be on duty. Basel has also issued a security action to ensure visitors can enjoy the song contest safely. Their promising “mobile awareness team” provides safe retreats for victims of violence or hostility as well as victims of the 24-hour hotline. Basel officials describe it as a unique concept designed to prevent violence, sexual assault or harassment, and racist aggression and insults.

Awareness team that can be identified by pink jackets is available 24 hours a day throughout the city. Basel security director Stephanie Eymann said the teams are a "low threshold" measure that gives visitors the opportunity to report harassment or attacks and seek protection, even if some people may not want to contact police.

The whole town seemed to have accepted the event, and now every lamp post waving the Turquoise welcome flag. The game itself sold out in minutes, but Basel promises there will be "everyone's stuff", tickets or no tickets, most of which will be free.

"There will be concerts throughout the city and there will be art projects," said tourism director Letizia Elia. Basel has 40 museums and galleries in a space of only 37 square kilometers, a record of a European city, and they are all involved.

The exhibition of works by Andy Warhol, Mark Rothko, Wassily Kandinsky and Pablo Picasso opened, with Swiss artist Ugo Rondinone's Our Poetry is a Poetry Rainbow Sculpture. The Basel Museum of Natural History also has an exhibition of glitz and charm.

The celebrations are already spread across Switzerland, with the best school band competitions across the country going to be on stage in Basel.

But hosting events like Eurovision is by no means without obstacles, and this is no exception. Basel's final choice as a venue was only made at the end of August last year, with only more than seven months to organize everything.

Then there was the objection of the evangelical Christian groups, who claimed that Eurovision destroyed traditional family values, and performers often sang Satanism and mysticism. They collected enough signatures to force referendums aimed at banning public funds.

But on November 24, voters expressed great affirmation of the song contest. 66.6% approved Basel's budget for nearly $40 million. Conradin Cramer is expected to hold a referendum because “this is how Switzerland works, which is good.” But he is still happy with the size of the vote: “It shows that this is a city that really wants to do that.”

He was very aware that the global debate around diversity and inclusion has changed since Swiss singer Nemo became the first non-binary to win the European TV network.

Mr. Cramer said Basel's overwhelming message was "everyone is welcome."

On stage and in the locker room, the situation is even more stringent. The EBU, which hosts the competition itself, has always adhered to its rules, saying that performers can only bring their own flags into the green room on the stage or in the green room. This means they will not be able to hang a flag of pride or any other flag of gender identity or gender.

However, fans will be able to bring any flag they like to the stage.

Last year, Swiss champion Nemo did wave non-binary flags during the show, but said they had to "smuggle" the flags. This year, the LGBTQ+ group said they were disappointed that EBU has not relaxed the rules.

The Swiss group Pink Cross said: “The prohibition of our symbol is a slap from the LGBTIQ community.

The EBU said the guidelines were designed to create a clear and balanced explanation: “European TV network does not need a flag to showcase its alliance and celebration for the LGBTQ+ community.”

Throughout the Atlantic, Donald Trump’s administration is actively removing government support for diversity and inclusion measures, and he calls on partnering European institutions, including some Swiss universities, to do so.

Mr. Kremer said Basel should also stand up, even if EBU cannot.

"These are our European values. People and countries are all in a friendly championship match. No matter who you are, if you are young, if you are young, if you are straight, if you are gay, if you are female, male, or non-binary, or if you are non-binary, then everything is fine. I think it's not just Basel's representation for Europe, it's not just Europe."

So if everyone is welcome, how do they get there? The host country is Switzerland, and punctual transportation is satisfied. The Swiss Railway has hundreds of trains paved. In Basel, the tram will run 24 hours a day.

And, for those who are truly in European TV mode, there is even a karaoke tram where passengers can make a 90-minute journey throughout the town while singing.