As we reached the deadline to submit bids to host Eurovision 2026, on July 4, only two cities had gone all the way with the process: Innsbruck and Vienna. With its status as capital, and its experience hosting two previous editions, Vienna could look like a favourite. But Innsbruck is not without arguments.
Let us analyse the two scenarios through the different perspectives that matter : arenas, accommodations, accessibility by transports, additional venues and city transportations, but also some of the more symbolic elements that both bids could offer.
Arenas: Low ceilings and long histories
Whichever bid wins, Eurovision will go from one “Halle” (St. Jakobshalle) to another: either the State Hall of Vienna (Wiener Stadthalle) or the Olympic Hall of Innsbruck (Olympiahalle).
Vienna’s Stadthalle and its Eurovision hosting experience
The Stadthalle already hosted Eurovision in 2015, and is a multi-hall building. Its main hall, Halle D, boasts a “seating” capacity slightly above 10,000 (which seems to include the standing area). Built in the 1950’s, it remains the largest arena and event centre of its type in Austria. The Viennese bid points out that no additional constructions would be needed. This point remains to be seen, as the Halle D is only 17m high, which is 1m below the standard that was set for the 2025 bids, 18m. Of course, the St. Jakobshalle was also short of the requirement (35cm short) and did not have a solid enough roof, so additional construction was necessary to support the ceiling equipment (which was the technical reason behind the “frame” of the stage, hiding two pillars to support the equipment). Despite hosting in 2015, the Stadthalle may be slightly less up to date with the ambitions of the contest of the 2020’s.
Innsbruck’s Olympiahalle and its Olympic legacy
The Olympiahalle of Innsbruck was built in the early 1960’s, in time for the 1964 Winter Olympics. It has seats for 8,000 spectators, and space for an additional 4,000 spectators in the standing area. As for the ceiling, it is only 15m high, 3m short of the 2025 requirement. The Basel exception may still apply though, as the EBU teams clearly wanted to showcase this year’s contest as an exemple of how “smaller” arenas could still host Eurovision, with some technical adjustments.
Although it has never hosted the song contest, Olympiahalle has been used extensively for concerts, ice hockey matches, and the Winter Olympic Games. It was used for the closing ceremonies of the 1964 and 1976 Games, as well as for figure skating and ice hockey events in both editions.
The figure skating part is full of history. 1964 saw the victory of Sjoukje Dijkstra from the Netherlands, the first and only Dutch figure skater to get an Olympic medal (after earning a silver medal in 1960). As for 1976, it saw the introduction of ice dancing as a competitive event (a discipline in which the famous duo Torvill & Dean would win gold eight years later). It was also the year of John Curry’s victory, the first man to get a gold medal in the sport for Great Britain. Curry was famously outed as a gay man around the time of the final, and had to face many inappropriate questions on the topic during his winner’s press conference. With this added pressure, he still delivered what was described as a “technical masterpiece” by the press during the exhibition gala after the events, which was also the first gala in the history of the Olympics.
Media centre and Arena Plus?
While the Stadthalle in Vienna has multiple halls for multiple purposes and could thus host the media centre (as it did in 2015), the Olympiahalle is just one large space. But just like Basel’s arena, it is part of a bigger sports & events complex, called Olympiaworld. Next to the arena is a smaller ice rink, the TIWAG Arena (which could be a worthy successor to Basel’s media centre, which was placed in an ice rink), and south of the complex is the Tivoli Stadium of Tyrol. Although Innsbruck has not talked about the idea of a new “Arena Plus” experience, it has all the facilities to repeat Basel’s experience in a concentrated area.
Conclusion
Both arenas are under the requirements in terms of ceiling, but both are well ahead in terms of seating. Vienna has more space, and could concentrate several key elements in the same building, in the centre of the city, while Innsbruck could deliver an Austrian version of the Basel experience, with an entire area, slightly in the city’s periphery, dedicated to the contest.
Accommodations: reading through the lines
In press releases, the Innsbruck bid put out an impressive figure: more than 300,000 beds in the region, making it easy to welcome all the spectators for the contest. Vienna itself does not boast as many, with “only” 82,000 beds presented in different press articles.
These numbers are mostly confirmed by the Statistik, the official statistics office of Austria, which indicates that for the 2024 summer season, the state of Vienna had 103,290 beds and the state of Tyrol 337,171. Both would be enough, of course. But the figures given by Innsbruck hide the reality that the State of Tyrol is much larger than Innsbruck and encompasses places which would require heavy commuting to be able to reach the arena.
Statistik gives the number of beds in Innsbruck proper at 9,239 for the 2024 summer season. The figures for the winter season are not available as the city was not part of the top 10 municipalities in terms of accommodations (which is the only data available publicly for this level of administrative boundaries). The city that came 10th, however, did so with 9,908 beds, so Innsbruck is likely to keep a very similar profile on and off-season. Accommodation can be found in other towns close-by, of course, like Hall in Tirol, Wattens or Zirl, but the actual number of “reasonably-placed” beds is difficult to estimate. It remains very likely to be under the numbers found in Vienna, which would drive prices up (when they are already very high), making even the reasonably-placed ones not necessarily reasonably-priced. Fans who have tried to find hotels or rooms in Innsbruck have faced more difficulties than they did with the Austrian capital.
Vienna also encompasses a large region with some places perhaps too far from the planned areas of Eurovision events. But, as we will see later, the local transportation system remains dense and “urban”, whereas some locations in Tyrol are only accessible through regional trains with limited availability.
Conclusion
Behind the big numbers, Innsbruck is at a clear disadvantaged compared to Vienna in terms of accommodations. The priority that would naturally be given to delegations would not help with the situation either.
Getting there: Central European hub vs mountainous geography
Most international fans will come from all across Europe and beyond, and will probably travel by plane to the contest. Still, we encourage those who can to use greener modes of transportations, such as trains and buses. Austria being a very central country, these two options will be reasonably available to more people that they have been in recent contests such as Liverpool or Malmö.
By plane
Vienna boasts one of the main international airport of the continent, the Vienna International Airport, which is connected to most of Europe and the main international destinations, either directly for the main American airports of the east coast (Washington, Newark/NYC, etc.) or indirectly for Australia through Asian hubs such as Doha, Dubai and Singapore. Interestingly though, the “official airline” of the contest for the past three years, Easyjet, has almost no flights going to Vienna, the most notable one being from Milan. The airport is a regional hub for its rival in the low-cost category, Ryanair. A change in sponsor may become necessary for the EBU if the “official” airline can only fly in people from northern Italy…
An alternative and cheaper solution for Vienna would be Bratislava Airport, 55km further east, which is connected by bus to Vienna. It is also a Ryanair hub, with connections to England, Scotland, Belgium, Malta, Poland, Greece and Bulgaria.
Innsbruck, on the other hand, suffers from a very limited offer of direct flights, especially once the winter season is over. Considering the current 2025 summer schedule, there would be some flights from London Gatwick, Manchester, Edinburgh, Amsterdam, and a few Greek airports, but even then some of these connections only started after Eurovision week this year, and are not assured every day of the week. The schedule could of course be re-arranged, but the direct route does not look promising.
The closest alternative for Innsbruck would be Munich Airport, which is connected to the potential host by train and bus and covers most of the international destinations, similarly to Vienna.
By train
Vienna is crossed by a large set of railways, which separates the district of Favoriten from the rest of the city. The Wien Hauptbahnhof is the central station, only 30 minutes away from the Stadthalle in public transports. Closer to the arena, west of the central station, is the smaller Wien Meidling station, where most trains also stop. Even closer is the Westbahnhof, but it is a terminus for regional and domestic lines.
Still, taking these into accounts, the city can be reached directly by day from Zurich, Munich, Innsbruck, Budapest, Prague, Bratislava, and even Dortmund thanks to the Deutsche Bahn ICE 91. Vienna is also a hub for night trains, with direct lines connecting the Austrian capital to Amsterdam, Paris, Ljubljana, Zagreb, Split, Rome, Milan and Varsaw.
In comparison, the Innsbruck Hauptbahnhof is not as well-connected in terms of direct lines. But thanks to its position in the Alps and its status as the capital of Tyrol, Innsbruck lies at the intersection of east-west and north-south axis of transportations. On the east-west lines, it is directly connected to Vienna and Zurich, while on the north-south line, it leads to Munich and Verona. These four are much bigger stations, which can be reached more easily and directly from other European cities.
The city can also be reached through night trains, with direct lines from Amsterdam, Hamburg, Zagreb, Ljubljana, Budapest, and the previously mentioned stations Munich, Zurich and Vienna. Some of these lines, however, would make you arrive in Innsbruck in the middle of the night.
Both cities can also be reached by the Venice-Simplon-Orient-Express, from Paris or Geneva (in the case of Innsbruck), if you have a few thousand euros or pounds to spare. The starting price is £7,700/8,900€.
By bus
The bus situation is quite similar to the train situation. Vienna can be reached directly from most of Central and Western Europe, as well as Northern Italy, Slovenia and Croatia, and is one transfer away from virtually every capital on the continent, save for the southern Balkans and Spain/Portugal.
Innsbruck once again suffers from its geographical isolation, and can mainly be reached by transferring from Munich, Milan, Verona, or Vienna. Several cities in Poland, however, including Varsaw, have direct lines of night buses which arrive not only in Innsbruck, but next to the Olympiahalle. These are operated by the transport company SINDBAD, owned by Blablacar.
Conclusion
For international travellers, Vienna is much more accessible than Innsbruck. The capital of Tyrol is hard to get to directly, and most fans (and, possibly, delegations) would need to reach Zurich, Munich, Milan, Verona or Vienna itself to then continue their way towards the potential host city.
Getting around: ESC venues and how to get there
Once you have reached the host city, you may want to visit it, and to be able to move around easily between the place you stay at, the arena, and the other Eurovision venues. These will likely include the Eurovision Village, Euroclub, EuroCafé and potential additions like the Eurovision Street, as well as unofficial places that may host fan events such as the Eurofansclub.
Vienna
Vienna is a European capital city, and as such has an extensive public transportation system. Several lines of tram and metro/subway make it easy to move around, with the Stadthalle being reachable directly from the line U6 (Burggasse Stadthalle) and is close to the previously mentioned Westbahnhof, at the intersection of lines U6 and U3 and of commuting regional and domestic trains.
In terms of additional venues, Vienna has not revealed much on the locations of the Eurovision Village, Euroclub, etc. The 2015 locations could give us a good idea of where they could be, but Viennese officials have stated that 2015 is not an absolute blueprint for their 2026 plans. Ten years ago, the Village was at the Rathausplatz, next to the City Hall, some 25 minutes away from the arena in transportations. Euroclub, much more exclusive at the time, was closer to the Stadhalle, at Ottakringer Brauerei, some 15 minutes in public transport, and Eurofans Café was at EMS Lounge, near the Danube, half an hour away but directly linked to the arena by metro U3.
With no further information, it is hard to say whether the venues will be easy to access or not. The last two years have had more additional venues, but also a clustering of them : Malmö had the Eurovision Street (Friisgatan) leading to Folkets Park, which hosted both the Eurovision Village and the Café, while Euroclub was completely separated, north of the city. As for Basel, the Village, Club and Café were all in the Messe Basel congress centre, with the Café becoming the entrance hall of Euroclub at night.
If Vienna wishes to go for the same kind of clustering, and with the idea of an inside Village, the VieCon centre (formerly Messe Wien) could do the trick. Next to the Prater, it would have all the necessary space with several exhibition halls, and a clear access through metro line U2. It would, however, be 6km and almost 40 minutes away from the arena, twice the distance seen in Basel.
Innsbruck
Innsbruck has no metro system, but it does have trams and an extensive network of buses.
The Olympiahalle itself is not directly accessible by trams, but is 12 minutes away by foot from several tram stops of line 3. Five different lines of buses (and two night lines) also stop directly at the arena, and connect it to the Central station and other locations, including the the smaller west station (Innsbruck Westbahnhof) from which people can commute from cities and towns west of Innsbruck, as well some suburban areas.
In terms of venues, the bid seems more detailed but is not as clear as it pretends to be. One of the idea of the bid would be to put all the Eurovision venues in an area where each can be reached by foot in about 15 minutes. The idea is commendable, but the Olympiahalle is slightly in the periphery of the city, although it is about 15m away by foot from the old town.
The issue comes from the Eurovision Village, which would be built in Landerstheaterplatz. This specific name does not exist officially: not only is it impossible to find on Google, it is also impossible to find on the official interactive map of the Innsbruck local government website. Logically, though, it should be the area in front of the Landerstheater, the Tyrol State Theatre, north of the city, next to the Innsbruck Hofgarten park. The area does look a bit small, and the entrance building to the underground parking area takes some space and would need to be outside the boundaries of the village for security reasons.
Moreover, the theatre is 30 minutes away from the arena by foot. Despite this, it remains directly connected to Olympiahalle by at least two bus lines (540 and M) and is a few minutes away from tram stops. Both modes of transportations bring you to the arena in about 15-20 minutes, with line 540 also stopping at the central train station to connect all the important locations.
Conclusion
It should be easy to get around both cities. You could argue that subways are a more efficient means of transportation than buses and trams, which could give an edge to Vienna. The claim of being “15 minutes from everywhere by foot” for Innsbruck also seems doubtful (although the city centre itself is 15 minutes away by foot from both the arena and the village), but it does not change the reality that inside Innsbruck itself, the different locations would remain well-connected.
Extra elements: Eurovision trends, slogans and history
Apart from these very practical elements, which are paramount to both the EBU and to fans planning to attend the contest, let us also look at some more symbolic or abstract elements that can also count, and be important to fans.
Size matters – the feeling of a Eurovision festival
Should Vienna be chosen as the host, it would mark the first time since 2018 (or 2019, depending on who you ask) that a capital city would welcome the contest. Objectively, few capital cities made it to the final rounds of bidding these past few years, with some not even considering candidating. But outside of this question of “official status”, it is also a question of size. Eurovision has exclusively been hosted by “medium-large” cities in the 2020’s, with a decreasing number of inhabitants (Manchester had less than 600,000 inhabitants in 2023, Malmö about 320,000 in 2024 and the canton of Basel-Stadt “only” 200,000).
These smaller sizes have an influence on the cultural impact of the contest: the smaller the city is, the bigger the contest looks, as Eurovision becomes the main event in town. Basel was a perfect example: the opening ceremony was advertised to the population, and more than 100,000 people attended the open-air part of the event. When the FC Basel sealed their victory in the Swiss Football Championship on May 11th (the Sunday before the first dress rehearsals), a number of their fans ended up partying at Euroclub, arriving in time for a Timebelle concert, because they knew the club was there, they knew there would be a party. Other cities around, in Germany and France, organised their own Eurovision events for locals: the contest was the big thing in the area.
Looking at next year, Innsbruck would clearly follow this pattern (with an even smaller population, around 130,000). Innsbruck 2026 would take over the city. Vienna 2026 would probably not: people would know about the contest of course, there would be advertising and promotion, but the city is likely too big for Eurovision to become a city-wide festival. Just like Paris or London, you would need the Olympics to make the entire city stop and look.
Olympic and Eurovision legacy
Back in 1964 and especially 1976, Innsbruck did stop and look at the Winter Olympics. It has the potential of becoming the 12th city to have hosted both the Games and the Contest (13th if you count Lillehammer, which hosted Junior Eurovision), and could do so 50 years after the last game, 60 years after the first Austrian victory at Eurovision and 70 years after the first edition of the contest.
Innsbruck would thus carry a very diverse legacy, as an “anniversary edition” for two events that share so much and that interact so little. We’ve already written about the Olympic history of the Olympiahalle, and how John Curry had to face hostility, pressure, and inappropriate questions after being outed by a journalist in 1976. What a legacy it would be, fifty years later, to see the Eurovision fandom, in all its diversity, take over the place. To see journalists ask respectful questions to LGBTQ+ artists about their identity, like they did for 2025’s winner press conference, when journalist GJ Kooijman celebrated JJ as the third queer winner in a row and asked him how he felt about that.
The Olympic legacy would also be physically visible: the Olympic rings are the main element of the façade of the Olympiahalle, the ski jumping venues are visible from the arena itself, when you look towards the southern mountains.
Vienna would not have all of that. But Vienna has its own history (which was showcased in 2015) and has hosted the contest twice, in two very different eras. Combined with the 70th anniversary and the 70th edition of the contest, this could logically push us towards a more “Eurovision history tribute” sort of show. Looking at 2015, however, which was the 60th edition, the contest was not particularly filled with legacy acts.
The fact remains that from a storytelling point of view, Vienna has less to say now than before, and less to say than Innsbruck. The slogans of both bids are good examples of that: Vienna’s “Europe, shall we dance?”, although an appealing invitation, is a bit generic. One could link it to the Vienna balls, of course, but you would not be surprised to see Paris, Oslo, Varsaw or Zagreb use the exact same words.
Innsbruck’s “Together on top” shows much more promise: it reflects the specific, alpine/tyrolean features of the city (like “All Aboard” did for Lisbon), it keeps the “rallying/inclusive” character of most slogans of the 2010’s/2020’s (like Vienna’s), and it has the added bonus of a cheeky innuendo (like Stockholm’s infamous “Come Together”).
Conclusion: The practicality of Vienna, the fantasy of Innsbruck
After this analysis, Vienna remains the clear favourite to host the contest. It has a clear advantage over Innsbruck on two of the most important practical topics: accommodations, and accessibility. But for fans managing to get a place to stay not too far from the main Eurovision locations, both cities would likely offer a gratifying and enjoyable experience.
Innsbruck has more of a story to offer, perhaps more of a soul. It would also continue a trend of smaller cities hosting the Contest. But it would be an expensive choice for fans and delegations, and the most practical choice for 2025 remain Vienna.
The final choice should take place and be revealed in August.
What about your conclusions? Where would you like to see the Contest next year? Tell us more in the comments below, or on social media at @escxtra!
This article has been edited after a mistake had found itself in the description of Vienna’s Stadthalle: our article first stated it had hosted Eurovision in 1967 and 2015, but it was not actually the host venue for 1967.
