Several cities and several venues hope to host Eurovision 2015, but only one pair will win the right to welcome thousands of fans and journalists next May. As the weeks pass, we’ll definitely see cities withdrawing from the bidding process, just as we did last summer. And it seems that Vienna may be the first to go, as Wiener Stadthalle and Vienna’s Messe Centre are already booked.
WIENER STADTHALLE
The most popular option among the tabloids, the Stadthalle it has a capacity of 16,000 and is located within the Vienna city limits. That makes it easy to host the masses—and easy for the masses to get there! However, as we previously reported, ORF wants the venue to be empty at least 6 weeks before the first semi final and one week after the end of the competition. This means that if we take the suggested dates (19, 21 and 23 of May) into consideration, the selected venue must be empty before April 5, while the EBU will leave on May 30. Unfortunately there are several events already planned to take place in Vienna’s Stadthalle, and more specifically, in Hall D, where Eurovision would take place.
James Last concert – 22 April (Hall D)
Esoteriktage Fruhjahr 2015 – 26 April
Apassionata 2015 – 25 April (Hall D)
Max Raabe & Palast Orchester Tournee 2015 – 5 May
Ehrlich Brothers – 23 May (suggested date for the grand final)
Dieter Nuhr – 29 May
Until the venue for the 60th edition of Eurovision is selected, we may see that more venues have been booked for this period. If ORF decided to take the contest there, which is now very doubtful, it would have to cancel a series of events, many of which have already issued tickets.
VIENNA’S MESSE
Another viable option in Austria’s capital is the large Congress Centre near the Prater. But it seems that the Messe will be unable to host Europe’s favourite TV show as well, because the 50th International Liver Congress 2015 will take place from 22 till 26 April. It is a large-scale event, with more than 10,000 doctors attending, so it can’t be cancelled.
So, we can deduce that these circumstances may lead Vienna to withdraw its bid to host the Eurovision Song Contest 2015. It looks like the Stadthalle in Graz and the Olympiahalle in Innsbruck are now the hot favourites….
Photos: Conny de Beauclair, Messe Wien
is that liver thing a joke? Either way, surely, since that’s not a music event, it’d be easier to move that somewhere?
Millstreet 1993 was a good show. It had a crowd of 8,000 which was excellent for 1993. Ireland started to modernize Eurovision at this stage.
How about they pushed that liver congress a week earlier, that way we could have Eurovision in Vienna?
BTW Wels should not be host city. I mean, what’s so interesting about this city, anyway? It’ll be like Millstreet all over again.
I am worried that Austria will just slap together any old crap next year like Denmark in 2001 because the Eurovision Song Contest does not attract a lot of interest in Austria. If if the Netherlands, Sweden, Germany or Ireland were hosting it, it would be different because compared to Austria, the contest is extremely popular and attracts a huge amount of public interest in those 4 countries.
@DR
It was a different case in 2013. SVT wanted Malmo to host the event for various reasons. It wasn’t just the problem of booking the Friends Arena…
Yes, the interest for Eurovision is low in Austria but it’s a great chance for ORF to host a massive TV show like Eurovision so i’m sure they will do a good job. I hope they won’t disappoint us like Swedes did back in 2013.
The doctors summit could easily be moved to a hotel or another venue so that the Messe could host.
I am mostly worried about how austria will host this event overall. the interest for ESC is very low in the country.
I really want it to be Vienna! For a number of reasons:
1. The capital city, the only city in Austria that everyone has heard of (apart from Innsbruck or Salzburg maybe)
2. The infrastructure in Vienna is far superior to the other Austrian towns/cities
3. Im visiting friends in Vienna next Spring and it would be great to get caught up in some Eurovision buzz
4. Austria havent hosted a Eurovision since the 60s and will probably never host one again for quite some time going by previous record at Eurovision, so why not make it spectacular.
GRAZ GRAZ GRAZ GRAZ! 😀
Well if Vienna wants it it can have it. Excluding that doctors venue all the other ones can be moved. You tell me that the Ehrlich Brothers concert will prevent Vienna of hosting the show? All these concerts together can’t give the venue the fame that Eurovision will.
No! Vienna is the capital city of Austria, and they need to host Eurovision AGAIN, just like they did in 1967!
this is the last time austria will host esc, they might swell make the most of it.
So both Eurovision and the Liver Congress are both having milestone editions next year.
I dissagree with all those who think they will just move the acts. In 2012 every one thought we were going to stockholm the next year, but all the arenas were already booked and it went to a malmö.
Just except we probably wont be going to Vienna next year.
Pure shit. Vienna will host the event but in contrast with Germany and Sweden, Austria’s smaller cities do not have the decent infrastructure to hold a huge event like Eurovision which needs a modern and over 10k arena.
I’m sure those events in Vienna will move to a different hall. Eurovision is a bigger priority.
There are 10,000 liver doctors?
it would be awesome if we could have a BIG eurovision again like in 2011! It was amazing that year! But i doubt it cause Jon Ola and all those idiots at the EBU likes boring small contests with small venues like the last 2 years…….. Everything really sucked in Malmö 2013 but i am sure it will be a contest on that size again.
I wonder why it is necessary to bring up such a pointless rumour and discussion. Is there nothing else to report?
This article is totally made up in its own conclusion, because even with a couple of pre-bookings, there is no way those venues will withdraw their bids for something as big as Eurovision. Anything can settled in advance, it’s still almost a year to go.
They can cancel the events or move the events either to a different date or somewhere else. They did that last year for Herning.
I really want it to be Vienna 2015 and it seems the only reasonnable choice to me (with Salizburg not interested)…. i think it’s possible for them to host it in a football or sport stadium just like Dusseldorf 2011… leet’s hope
I agree that the Messe will be out with that guaranteed attendance but the Stadthalle concerts could easily be cancelled at this time and refunds given (assuming that anyone has already bought tickets!).
Imagine being the Austrian artist who refused to move their one night concert and prevented the 60th ESC from taking place in Vienna…it’s not going to happen! I am sure all those acts mentioned would be offered alternative dates with some sort of compensation.
Hopefully the contest will not have to move to Netherlands. (EXTRAORINARILY unlikely) Austria have waited 48 years to host it again. For me, it’s Graz 2015. This is like Copenhagen and Herning last year.