Turin 2022๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡น Italy

๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡น Eurovision 2022: MIKA’s management deny hosting rumours

Reports of him entering talks with Rai have been dismissed as "rumours without foundation"

Last week, we reported that Alessandro Cattelan and Chiara Ferragni are allegedly the frontrunners to host Eurovision 2022. In addition, MIKA was also being named in several Italian news outlets as a potential wildcard third host. However, the singer’s management have since publicly denied the rumours that he has entered talks with Rai.

To the surprise of many, a name that had emerged as a potential Eurovision 2022 host was Michael Holbrook Penniman Jr., better known as MIKA. Despite being Lebanese-British, he is fluent in Italian and has had a TV career in Italy for a few years now.

Speaking to Rockol.it, MIKA’s management dismissed the claims as “rumours without foundation” and denied that he had entered talks with the Italian broadcaster. It’s worth remembering that MIKA has made disparaging comments about Eurovision and its quality of songs in the past.

With the host city due to be confirmed by the end of August, we may still have a few months to wait until the hosting line-up is revealed. For reference, the hosts for Eurovision 2020/21 weren’t revealed until December.

Eurovision 2022: Host city will be decided by the end of August

A total seventeen Italian cities have submitted their candidacy to host the Eurovision Song Contest 2022. However, only 3 of these proposed cities meet all of the requirements. Notably, Verona, Naples and Bari did not submit bids after initially expressing interest.

The cities in the running are:

The provincial capitals that are in the running are:

  • Alessandria
  • Matera
  • Pesaro
  • Rimini
  • Viterbro

Meanwhile, the following municipalities have submitted bids:

  • Acireale (Catania)
  • Bertinoro di Romagna (Forlì – Cesena)
  • Jesolo (Venice)
  • Palazzolo Acreide (Syracuse)
  • Sanremo (Imperia)

After submitting their initial bids, each candidate received a more detailed document ahead of the next stage. Six of the above were then eliminated from the process following a meeting of the Board of Directors (struck through). Rai, in coordination with the EBU, will select the host city by the end of August.

The hosting line-up has yet to be revealed, but Alessandro Cattelan and Chiara Ferragni are currently the rumoured frontrunners.

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 the selection process continues!

Who would you like to see host Eurovision 2022? Let us know! Be sure to stay updated by following @ESCXTRA on Twitter@escxtra on Instagram and liking our Facebook page for the latest updates! Also, be sure to follow us on Spotify and YouTube to see our reactions to the news in the run up to the 2022 national final season!

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