The capital of Lower Austria is considering applying for a bid to host the contest next year. Issues may arise with the proposed venue, however.
The mayor’s arguments
Matthias Stadler, Mayor of Sankt Pölten, has defended his city’s potential bid using its experience as a host of other major events.
We have the huge Frequency Festival with 150,000 people in the city. The VAZ-Halle is used, as is the entire open-air area. We have a wonderful town hall and cathedral square and the government district also offers various facets. We have a stadium with a large capacity.
Matthias Stadler, Mayor of Sankt Pölten
The VAZ-Halle in question is a congress centre (similar to Messe Basel in Basel, which hosted the Eurovision Village and Euroclub this year) located in the south of the city. However, it does not seem to fit the requirements that have been used in bids in the last few years.
According to th St-Pölten tourism board, the largest area that could be used indoors would come from a joint use of Halls A and B, where the ceiling height is only 8.5m, well below the 18m standard from last year’s bid. Of course, Basel’s St. Jakobshalle was 35cm short of the requirement, and still got to host, but that is far from a hall that is less than half as tall as required.
The capacity of the halls are also limited, with a “theatre seating” capacity of 3,400 people with both halls open. Despite this, the VAZ Halle management said to the Niederösterreichische Nachrichten newspaper that hosting the contest “is feasible”.
As for the stadium, it has 8,000 seats and has no roof, so it could not be a suitable venue for the contest itself, though the return of an “Arena+” concept could be possible there.
Support from the State of Lower Austria
As for other bids, the idea to host is not just supported by the bidding city but also by the local state government. Just like Switzerland and Germany, Austria is a federal country, so support from the local state is paramount to enforce your bid.
With at least two bids in the State of Lower Austria, however, State Governor Johanna Mikl-Leitner did not name any specific city, but would like to see the contest in her region.
With his great performance at the Song Contest, JJ has made us all very proud and put our cultural nation in the international spotlight. It goes without saying that Lower Austria would be delighted if ORF [Austria’s public broadcaster] wanted to organise the Song Contest here.
Johanna Mikl-Leitner, Governor of Lower Austria
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The Song Contest stands for values such as cohesion, peace and solidarity. So where would be a better venue than here in Lower Austria, which has seized Europe’s opportunities like almost no other region
Lower Austria is the state that surrounds Vienna, without including it, as the capital of Austria has been its own State for more than a hundred years. This is why Sankt-Pölten, with “only” 50,000 inhabitants, is the State capital.
Other potential bids
Sankt Pölten joins the following list of interested cities:
What do you think about this potential bid? Can Eurovision be hosted in Sankt Pölten? How can the challenges around the venue be overcome? Tell us more in the comments below or on social media at @escxtra!
