The host cities keep coming in rapidly. Latest to the party is the city of ‘s-Hertogenbosch. The Brabanthallen are the venue offering to take on the task of hosting the Eurovision Song Contest in 2020. The city council has not yet responded to the plans.
Brabanthallen: “We are ready”
The candidacy of the Brabanthallen comes from its director Jeroen Dona. He is the CEO of Libéma, the owner of the venue in ‘s-Hertogenbosch. He posted about his desire to bring the contest to his city on Twitter, where he stated the venue is ready to host. Dona has sent a letter to the mayor of ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Jack Mikkers, to explain his ideas.
‘s-Hertogenbosch is not a surprising candidate in that respect. When Noord-Brabant put forward their desire to host the Eurovision Song Contest somewhere in the province, it seemed Brabanthallen would be their most logical pick.
Brabanthallen are a multi-hall complex, first founded in 1931. The original building has a monumental status. Over the years, the venue grew as they built more halls to add to the complex. The main hall often hosts larger concerts and has a capacity of slightly more than 10,000 visitors. Like with Ahoy in Rotterdam, the other halls in the complex could serve as Green Room and Press Centre for the Eurovision Song Contest.
Away from the Randstad
On Sunday, VVD, the largest party of the country, already stated that they wish for Avrotros, NPO and NOS to look for options outside the Randstad. The Randstad is the combined name for the four big cities: Amsterdam, The Hague, Rotterdam and Utrecht. Such options are currently on the table, as we reported yesterday in our overview of all current candidates. This latest offer also fits in the picture.
‘s-Hertogenbosch is the capital of the Noord-Brabant province. The city has a population of just over 150,000 and hosts multiple cultural events every year. With over 350 restaurants and bars, the city is a popular destination in the Netherlands. Welcoming tourists is nothing unusual for the city.
The city, commonly referred to as Den Bosch, is well-connected to the rest of the country. A train to Schiphol Airport takes less than an hour, with Eindhoven Airport even closer on a 25 minute drive. Rotterdam-The Hague Airport, Weeze Airport and Maastricht-Aachen Airport are all accessible within ninety minutes, so transport to and from the city is easy.
‘s-Hertogenbosch become the ninth city wishing to host the Eurovision Song Contest. Besides the well-known options of Amsterdam and Rotterdam, you can find out about all offers in our article here:
The city council in ‘s-Hertogenbosch has not yet commented on the desire of Jeroen Dona and Brabanthallen to host the Eurovision Song Contest. ESCXTRA.com have reached out to the responsible muncipal councillor to ask for a statement and we will of course update this article as soon as we receive a reply.
