Lviv, Kyiv, Odessa, Kherson, Kharkiv, Dnipro — these six cities all want to host Eurovision 2017 in Ukraine. But officials can only choose one and they are taking the decision very, very seriously.

So much so that they will stage a special programme called “City Battle” on July 20 at 17:30 CET live on UA:Pershyi, Ukrainian Radio, the official NTU YouTube channel and the broadcaster’s Facebook page. During the two-hour programme representatives from the bidding cities will present their proposals live in front of the entire country.

According to NTU: “Experts in music sphere, the Organizational Committee, the Eurovision fan club in Ukraine and media representatives will be present in studio and will take part in the discussion.”

NTU’s full statement:

Ukraine's NTU will broadcast a special programme devoted to choosing the #Eurovision2017 host city. Here is NTU's full statement: Host city candidates for ESC-2017 is to be discussed publicly #Eurovision Song Contest is a huge event for the country and every year a host country is excited to take this opportunity though the task is not as easy as it could seem. For example, in 2012 when ESC was in Azerbaijan a new arena “Crystal Hall” has been built in Baku. In Copenhagen in 2014 the Eurovision arena B&W Hallerne was located on the territory of the former industrial complex that was used for shipbuilding. In Athens when the ESC-2006 was held in Greece, the semifinal and the final shows were held in one of the Olympic Arenas. And now Ukraine is on the way of selection the ESC-2017 arena. But before it, first and foremost is to choose the host city. As it is known six cities applied for hosting the biggest music event of Europe and now the stage of considering the submitted applications is in full swing. This issue will be discussed in details for two hours in a special program “City Battle”on 20 July at 17:30 (CET) live on UA:Pershyi, Ukrainian Radio, official NTU youtube channel and on Facebook page. Just in NTU studio, in front of the whole country, the representatives of Kyiv, Dnipro, Lviv, Odessa, Kharkiv and Kherson will present their proposals according to the EBU requirements. The experts in music sphere, the Organizational Committee, Eurovision fan club in Ukraine, media representatives will be present in studio and will take part in the discussion. Later two cities will be chosen as finalists by the Organizational Committee. More details and updates are coming soon. Follow the news on NTU website: 1tv.com.ua and on the official pages on Facebook and Twitter.

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The organizational committee will reduce the six cities to two finalists at a later date.

More details and updates are forthcoming.

The list of requirements and plans for bidding cities is extensive and detailed, and you can read it in full here. Among other things, applicants must must be able to provide an “international press centre for at least 1,550 journalists” and provisions for “crisis and emergency situations.” Preference will be given to cities that can provide an arena that is covered and can house at least 7,000 people.

Early on most pundits — ourselves included — viewed this as a two-horse race between Kyiv and Lviv. But NTU’s open bidding process has seen four more cities join the race. Do you think any of them can unseat the front-runners? Let us know below!

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Zebb
Zebb
7 years ago

@bb there were discussions about this here. Trouble arises not at building roof process but in mounting technical and sound equipment on it (too much weight). I actually still hope that stadium idea will be supported by international team so they’ll have to solve issues with placing equipment in a original way. I guess there can be Tomorrowland staging concept (google it if you’re interested) Because after it succeed it may open road for big venues.

bb
bb
7 years ago

We all know that Eurovision wli be in same venue as contest 2005, because they have little time to make roof on some stadion, becuase weather in Ukraine is not as weather in Azerbaijan, they have good clima to build in autum, winter

Lianne
Lianne
7 years ago

I dont get the reason they would do so. The majority of venues that are bidding are stadiums and probably wont get a roof built. This is very complicated.

fikri
fikri
7 years ago

are sydney and moscow bidding tho?

fikri
fikri
7 years ago

i love all this transparency. first they asked the public about the graphic design style, now this. it’s great.

Ivan Browdy
Ivan Browdy
7 years ago

Ukraine deeply surprised me. Well done.

MTD
MTD
7 years ago

No matter the outcome, I really LOVE how the TV is actually open to the public about what’s public interest. Bravo and kudos for that!

Well done Ukraine. Rest of Europe, take notes. Maybe Ukraine has A LOT to learn from the West and it should “rebuild itself”, but this is a good step forward.

cheesecake
cheesecake
7 years ago

Like the idea!

Darren
Darren
7 years ago

Wow! I’ve never heard of this in a host city selection! But, I hope it becomes a thing for other host nations when they win Eurovision. It makes the process more democratic I think, rather than having a few faceless people deciding the host city. It’s interesting an I am excited to see how it will turn out. I still think it will be Kyiv or Lviv as none of the other cities seem like they can accommodate it. I think it will be Kyiv.

James
James
7 years ago

@Donna
It’s one presentation program. The top two will be chosen internally the following day on July 21 and then the final city chosen will be announced August 1.

James
James
7 years ago

This is really nice to see..it’s a presentation show as opposed to a actual battle or nationa final however it gives some of the small cities in Ukraine an opportunity to present themselves to the world as tourist destinations. Whether they host the contest or not each city will receive positive promotion and encourage people to visit areas that may never have heard of before. Great idea.

Donna
Donna
7 years ago

Looks like they decided to put the city battles on a national final too? Expect it to be just as long as the 2016 nfs of theirs.

Ariso Light
Ariso Light
7 years ago

I can’t wait! 😀