Eurovision 2022: Italy's potential host cities that meet EBU's requirements

Monday, 24 May 2021

While the applications from different cities are arriving in RAI to host the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 after Maneskin's victory in Rotterdam, it's interesting to see which cities actually meet EBU's requirements.

As many local authorities and Mayors of cities across Italy are expressing their will to become the next Eurovosion host cities, the final decision will not be based only on the willingness and desire of those cities to host.

For hosting Eurovision there are requirements to be met in order to aspire to host the event that brings an important induced in terms of number of tourists. In fact, not only the structure where Eurovision will be held must be evaluated , but also the accommodation capacity (to accommodate thousands of tourists) and above all the international connections.

Fundamental Requirements

Let's start immediately with the main and fundamental requirements by the EBU ( European Broadcasting Union) to be able to nominate a city and a specific structure.
- Arena or other closed structure (therefore no stadiums without coverage) with a capacity of at least 10,000 effective seats (calculating the presence of the stage) and a height of at least 18 meters.
- Convenient connections with one or more international airports.
- Adequate accommodation capacity (to accommodate tens of thousands of people, including tourists, journalists and delegations).
Based on those conditions we've taken a look over some of Italy's biggest cities where big arenas arw located and the local infrastructure is satisfying and we've come down to four cities that meet so far EBU's requirements. Let's go and see them one by one:

Milan

We start from Milan, the northern city of Italy that sees often big fashion, sports events and commercial exhibitions seems to tick all the boxes for hosting an event such Eurovision. Here are the facts for Milano:

International connections

Three international airports available , all well connected with a wide availability of low cost airline flights.
- Milan Linate city airport , located a few km from the city center and with dedicated connections (bus line 73). The opening of the first section of the new M4 underground between Linate Airport and the Forlanini FS railway station is also scheduled for the end of May 2021 , where the S5, S6 and S9 suburban lines are present.
- Milan Malpensa : with a dedicated railway line that directly connects Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 of the airport with the city center in less than 40 minutes (39 minutes to Milan Cadorna station). Alternatively: 46 minutes to Porta Garibaldi station and 51 minutes to Milano Centrale station.
- Orio al Serio : Bergamo's Airport in the third airport you can count on direct buses (Orio Shuttle) with an average journey of 50 minutes between the airport and Milan Central Station. Notable that the you can flight very cheap flights for this destination.
Arena or other similar structures

Assago Forum (currently Mediolanum Forum). Structure capable of hosting up to 12,700 spectators and more than run-in in the concert arena (Madonna, U2 and Vasco Rossi have also passed through it, just to name a few examples).

The Assago Forum also has additional spaces inside which, if necessary, can become perfect for setting up a space for the press room or for a separate Green Room. Structure height : 16.40 meters.

The structure is well connected to the rest of the city thanks to a dedicated stop on the M2 (green) underground line, the same that connects the main railway stations (including high-speed ones)

Accommodation capacity.

In terms of accommodation capacity , Milan can count on approximately 77,000 beds and over 41,000 rooms in hotels and similar structures (latest Istat data). Therefore, also on this front, all the fundamental requirements are respected.

It should be added that Milan is preparing to host the Olympics in 2026, with important investments that could flow into the organization of the most popular musical event in the world.

Rome

The Italian Capital city so called the Eternal City, may have hosted the Eurovision back in 1991, still remains are strong candidate in the race for hosting the next contest.

International connections .

The capital can count on both Rome Fiumicino , the main Italian airport for traffic (with over 1 million passengers a year) and Ciampino airport .

In the first case, there is both a dedicated railway line (the Leonardo Express, which connects with the Termini station) and a regional railway line (which connects Fiumicino with the Tiburtina station). For Ciampino airport, buses or private shuttles of various companies are available.

Arena or other similar structure .

Rome can rely on the Palazzo dello Sport , the largest event structure in the capital, with a maximum capacity of over 10,500 seats (10,000 with stage). Structure height : 35 meters (at the highest point of the vault).

Accommodation capacity

In terms of accommodation capacity , Rome can count on more than 145,000 beds and over 71,000 rooms in hotels and similar structures (latest Istat data).

Turin

The city that has seen major growth and infrastructure development due to the Olympics back in 2006, with the Palasport Olimpico (currently PalaAlpitour) standing out. The name of the city came up back in 2017 when Italy was won of the favorites to win the contests and in preliminary discussions was one of the potential host cities.

International connections

Unlike the previous cities mentioned in this research, Turin can count on a single international airport, that of Caselle (known as Sandro Pertini International Airport, 16 km northwest of the city).

The connections are guaranteed by a railway line between the airport and the peripheral station of Dora (here it is necessary to take the Dora Express bus to reach the center, for a distance of 19 + 15 minutes) or opt for the bus service with connections to the Porta Susa and Porta Nuova stations (journey time about 30 minutes).

Arena or other similar structure

The PalaAlpitour is the largest structure that the city of Turin can offer, capable of hosting (in the configuration with a side stage) up to 13,347 people. Structure height : 18 meters.

Accommodation capacity

In terms of accommodation capacity, Turin can count on almost 38,000 beds and just under 18,000 rooms in hotels and similar structures (latest Istat data).

Bologna

One city that attracts latest discussions' interest is Bologna in which is located one of the major arena in Italy, but that's go and see which facts make the city a serious candidate for the next contest.

International connections

The city is served by the G. Marconi international airport. In just 7 minutes, thanks to the Marconi Express (train on monorail) you can reach the central station of Bologna. Alternatively, bus connections are available.

Arena or other similar structure

The main concert venue is the Unipol Arena, located in Casalecchio di Reno, about 12 km from Bologna central station. Depending on the configuration, it can count on a capacity of approximately 18,000 spectators. It can be reached from Bologna with special extra-urban bus lines or via the railway line.Structure height : 30 meters.

Accommodation capacity . In terms of accommodation capacity, Bologna can count on over 24,000 beds and 12,800 rooms in hotels and similar structures (latest Istat data).

Pesaro

The city of Pesaro can be outlined as one more alternatative host city ofor Eurovision 2021 having the Sport Vitrifrigo Arena which can accommodate about 10,000 people, but the city fails to meet other fundamental requirements:

Accommodation capacity

With 5,689 beds and only 2,642 rooms available, it would be enough only for journalists and delegations from the competing countries.

Connection to an international airport .

The closest ones are in Ancona - Falconara Marittima, to be precise - and in Rimini. But the (rail) connections are not the most efficient and the airports in question have limited number of flights and routes compared to the main Italian airports. In addtion Bologna’s International Airport is a little bit further away, 90 mins precisely

Overall Conclusion

Therefore ,outside this quartet (Milan, Rome, Turin,Bologna) the possibility of hosting the event in other Italian cities is very difficult, due to the lack of one or more fundamental requirements. In addition we must outline that cities such as Rome, Milan or Turin are certainly benefited also by the fact that Rai has its production centers, television studios and therefore men and staff (including technicians) that can be used for the organization of the event. and live TV.

The first applications have already been sent in from Milan, Pesaro, Rome and Turin, and for sure there will be many others (even unacceptable, as when someone even thought of proposing the Ariston Theater in Sanremo), but in fact the ones mentioned are the only ones cities that can concretely aspire to host the event.

In the past years when the contest was a hosted in Italy, it took place in Naples, in 1965, after the victory of Gigliola Cinquetti and in Rome in 1991, after the victory of Toto Cutugno.

The porcess for the host city will unfold over the next 2-3 months and is expected to reach to a final decision by the end of summer if we take into account the host city bid for the previous contest but an earlier date cannot be excluded.

News Source: Eurofestivalnews.com