SRG focuses on comprehensive accessibility at ESC 2025
SRG will not only broadcast the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest live, but will also provide a comprehensive range of accessibility features in collaboration with Swiss Txt. Deaf and visually impaired viewers will have access to captions, sign language, and audio description in all national languages.
When the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) takes place in Basel in May 2025, SRG will not only be responsible for the organization, but will also broadcast the semi-finals and final live on television. At the same time, the SRG subsidiary Swiss Txt will provide a fully accessible service. The aim is to make Europe's biggest entertainment show accessible to as many people as possible in Switzerland - regardless of their hearing or sight.
For deaf viewers, all three shows are available in the respective sign languages: Swiss German (DSGS), French (LSF) and Italian (LIS). The presentation and commentary will be translated live, while the songs in international sign language have already been prepared in advance by deaf native speakers. This artistic realization was developed as part of a workshop and supported by the "Denk an mich" foundation. A total of 16 sign language interpreters are working for SRG.
Barbara Rossier, interpreter and coach, describes the claim as follows: "Music is not just sound, but also emotion, rhythm and atmosphere. The challenge lies in making all of this visually tangible - through body language, facial expressions, iconic gestures and creative metaphors."
SRG is also providing a premiere for people with visual impairments: for the first time, a national entertainment program in Switzerland will be audio-described live in all three national languages. Via the third audio channel, viewers receive a supplementary description of the television picture - for example, the stage design, reactions in the audience or the presenters' clothing.
For Tanja Morana, Head of Accessibility Services Zurich at Swiss Txt, the challenge lies above all in the brevity of the available pauses in speech: "But it is precisely in these few seconds that we have the opportunity to describe a situation as precisely, vividly and movingly as possible."
Subtitles in German, French and Italian are available via Teletext, HbbTV and online via the Play RSI, Play RTS and Play SRF platforms. On site at St. Jakobshalle, the "Accessify.live" platform also provides barrier-free access via smartphone - even for visitors with hearing aids or cochlear implants.
With this multilingual and multimedia offering, SRG is responding to increasing demand for accessible live entertainment. According to Swiss Txt, the service is to be expanded further in the future.
