There was Euphoria! for Roger Federer fans this week in Basel when the former world No. 1 made a surprise appearance during the first semifinal of the Eurovision Song Contest ....
(Sort of.)
Internet searches for Federer's name spiked during the first live broadcast of the annual flamboyant spectacle that pits European nations (and Australia) against each other in a singing contest that crowns the continent's best entertainer. This year, the contest is being hosted in Federer's home country at St. Jakobshalle, famously the host of the Swiss Indoors tournament he once dominated, and Tuesday's first of three broadcasts kept arguably the country's most famous athlete top of mind repeatedly.
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Hosts Hazel Brugger, Michelle Hunziker and Sandra Studer referenced the tennis champion in their humorous skits between acts, with their conversation at one stage debating if Federer is "the most Swiss thing to come out of Switzerland." This led to a musical number that listed everything else the Swiss have gifted the world, from instant coffee to the garlic press.