Tick-Tock: Eurofans left waiting for News on the host city
It seems like an eternity ago we were watching the Ukrainian cities fight it out on the televised city battle, all hoping to win the right to host the contest in 2017. After the battle, we were left with three cities: Kyiv, Dnipro and Odessa. The organisation committee and representatives from the EBU have now inspected the cities. The decision was expected on the 1st of August, and we’ve now been waiting for not only days, but weeks!
While we wait, let’s look at the three cities in the running:
Kyiv
Kyiv is the capital of Ukraine, and is no stranger to Eurovision. The capital has hosted the 2005 contest, and the Junior Eurovision contests in 2009 and 2012. It has also hosted other international events, such as the final of the Euro 2012 football tournament.
The city itself has a population of nearly 3 million, and is the biggest city in Ukraine. The proposed stadium for Eurovision 2017 is the Palace of Sports, which is the same venue that was used in 2005. The Palace of Sports is well located and can hold around 10,000 spectators. It has also been suggested that the Olimpiyskiy Stadium for press and fans.
Dnipro
Dnipro is around 400 kilometres away from the nation’s capital Kyiv, and is Ukraine’s 4th largest city. The city is actually called Dnipropetrovsk, however was shortened to Dnipro only recently.
The venue chosen within the city is the EuroArena, which is currently being constructed and is proposed to fit around 9500 spectators along with the Press Centre and Euroclub all on the premises.
Odessa
Odessa is located on the North-Western shore of the Black sea, and continues to be one of the most popular summer destinations within Ukraine. The city is only slightly bigger than Dnipro, and there are around 1 million inhabitants.
The proposed venue is Chornomorets Stadium, which like the two other options, holds around 10,000 people. The venue needs a roof upgrade, which the city is prepared to do before the contest if it chosen to be Odessa.
With all three cities inspected, we’re now just waiting for an announcement. We’re not the only impatient ones. The mayor of Dnipro is also getting a little…. Frustrated… with the procedures, however we are now being advised that the decision will be announced on the 23rd of August – this week. The general director of NTU, the Ukrainian broadcaster has spoken about the preparations, saying that the announcement date was never really set for August 1, however it was the people who were expecting it by this date. Nevertheless, we will have an announcement soon, and we can be assured that whichever city wins the bid will be perfectly equipped to be able to handle the contest.
Stay tuned for the announcement – coming soon, or so we hope!
