The cities just keep on coming, don’t they? Rimini and Florence are aiming to host the Eurovision Song Contest 2022. The mayors of the cities confirmed this afternoon. With Florence and Rimini, we now have nine cities fighting to host the Eurovision Song Contest in Italy.
Florence: The glory of Tuscany
When we think of Italy, Tuscany is usually one of the first images we think of. The hills and beautiful landscapes speak to the imagination of everyone who knows Italy. Earlier today, politicians from Tuscany already said their region would be a great fit for the contest, but they didn’t name a city. That changes now mayor Dario Nardella of Florence has put his city forward for the contest.
On Facebook, Nardella says the city, famous for all its art, museums and history left by the De’Medici family in the Middle Ages and Renaissance, is the “most beautiful, functional and artistic” place to host the Eurovision Song Contest. They will be preparing a bid soon, he says. He did not yet put a venue forward, but looking at Florence, there is a clear option there with the Nelson Mandela Forum.
Between 7,500 and 8,000 could attend a contest at the Nelson Mandela Forum, which is usually in use as the home base for basketball team Il Bisonte Firenze. The question remains whether the arena is actually high enough for Eurovision – an issue similar to that of the Jaarbeurs in Utrecht back in 2019.
Rimini: Almost Valentina Monetta’s backyard
The city closest to San Marino has now also thrown their hat in the ring: Rimini. The small but touristic city wants to host the Eurovision Song Contest 2022, mayor Andrea Gnassi confirmed to San Marino RTV. The city is located in the Emilia Romagna region, a region now responsible for no less than three bids: Bologna, Reggio Emilia and Rimini. Pesaro is only slightly south of the region. Rimini’s city centre is only twelve kilometres away from the border with San Marino. In fact, Rimini is closer to San Marino than the Colosseum is to Rome’s proposed Eurovision venue.
To host the Eurovision Song Contest, Rimini are offering the Fiera di Rimini, an expo centre in the city. In the past, the fairground has been the host of events for more than 10,000 people. However, concerts are rare there and the halls are all smaller. They would need to combine several halls to make the contest viable there. Add to that that the city is relatively small and Rimini may well be an outsider, especially if the region need to choose which bid (Bologna, Reggio Emilia or Rimini) to fund…
Nine cities now on the list
It is still very much early days in the race to host the Eurovision Song Contest 2022. The first six cities which expressed their desire to host the contest came in on Sunday morning. We wrote about them in greater detail yesterday, so check out our article from yesterday! Rome added themselves to the list this afternoon.
The nine cities, including Rimini and Florence, wishing to host Eurovision 2022 are:
- Turin
- Milan
- Pesaro
- Reggio Emilia
- Bologna
- Naples
- Rome
- Rimini
- Florence
Måneskin won the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 with Zitti E Buoni, taking us to Italy for the first time since 1991. We will report as more bids to host come in!
