About three weeks after Lena Meyer-Landrut won the contest with Satellite there is still no decision as to where the next Eurovision Song Contest will take place. Host broadcaster has selected a task force and so far seven cities are willing to take the stick over from Oslo.
The German broadcaster NDR has founded a task force
which consists of members of the production and the editorial
department. There is no date named when a decision about host city will be announced. The choice of the location also depends on the amount of the costs. Lutz Marmor, director of the NDR, said that in spite of the high costs, Germany is looking forward to host next year’s contest after 28 years of waiting for a second victory.
So far, several German cities have revealed their interest. Here is a short description of them:
BERLIN
Berlin is the capital and the largest city of Germany. It would be perfect to host the Eurovision Song Contest. When Germany hosted the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time in 1983, Berlin was not yet the German capital. At this time it was still a divided city. Since the German reunion in 1990 a lot has changed and Berlin has become a very modern metropol. It has a very good infrastructure. It offers two international airports (Tegel and Schönefeld) and a very well working subway and train network which connects the main places of the city. A problem might be that at the provisional date of the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 there will be the final of the German football cup, also in Berlin.
HAMBURG
Hamburg is the second largest city of Germany. The northern city is the residence of the NDR. In the past there have been huge Eurovision parties on the Reeperbahn, the popular centre of Hamburg’s nightlife. From here the German votes were announced in the previous years. The infrastructure is good as well. The airport Fuhlsbüttel is located 8 km from the city. All important places can be reached by train or subway.
HANOVER
Hanover is the capital of Lower Saxony and it is Lena Meyer-Landrut’s hometown. Hanover is famous for organizing exhibitions. Their exhibition area is the world’s largest. In 2000 it hosted the EXPO. The infrastructure is good, but in fact it cannot be compared to the bigger cities.
COLOGNE
Cologne is Germany’s fourth largest city and one of the media centres. It is the residence of Pro Sieben, the TV channel which cooperates with the ARD/NDR in organizing the Unser Star für Oslo project. Stefan Raab wants the contest to be held here because it is his hometown. Cologne plays an important role in the German gay scene. The Christopher Street Day is celebrated every year. The infrastructure is good enough. You can reach the airport Cologne/Bonn by train from the city centre.
DUSSELDORF
Dusseldorf is the capital of Northrhine-Westphalia. It is a beautiful city at the river Rhine and is also known for hosting exhibitions. It offers a huge arena (Esprit arena) where the local football team plays and where concerts of different artists take place. The Dusseldorf International Airport is the third biggest airport of Germany. It has its own trainstation from where you easily can get to the centre.
GELSENKIRCHEN
Gelsenkirchen might be an outsider. This town is located in the Ruhr area. It is one of the poorest cities in Germany. The unemployment rate is very high. One thing Gelsenkirchen is very proud of is their football team Schalke 04 who became vice-champion in the last Bundesliga season. They have a wonderful arena (Veltins arena) which can host about 70.000 people. In the Ruhr area, the cities are located close to each other. The big cities Essen, Duisburg, Bochum and Dortmund can be reached within 30 Minutes by train. Dusseldorf International Airport is about 40km away and can be reached by train as well. So the infrastructure might be good enough to host the Eurovision Song Contest.
MUNICH
Munich is the third largest German city and the capital of Bavaria. Eurovision fans know Munich quite well because it already hosted the 1983 contest. It could definitely be able to host another one. Munich is one of the most beautiful German cities and offers beside a wonderful landscape a huge arena and a very good infrastructure. It takes about 40 minutes to reach the second largest German airport by train from the central station.
Which German city do you think we host the 2011 Eurovision Song Contest? Vote in our poll.
