After a long summer of silence, and an early autumn of ‘coming soon!’ from the EBU and Rai, we finally have our host city for the 66th Eurovision Song Contest in 2022!
After defeating over 16 competitors, Turin has been chosen to host the contest at the 12,350 capacity PalaOlimpico, a mere 3km from the centre of Turin. The Grand Final will take place on Saturday 14th May with Semi-Finals on the 10th and 12th of May.
Turin will be the third Italian city to gain the honour of hosting the contest after Naples in 1965, and Rome in 1991.
Upon the announcement of the host city, Martin Österdahl (Eurovision Song Contest Executive Supervisor), Carlo Fuortes (CEO for Rai), and Chiara Appendino (Mayor of Turin) spoke to eurovision.tv
“Turin is the perfect Host City for the 66th Eurovision Song Contest.
As we saw during the 2006 Winter Olympics, PalaOlimpico exceeds all the requirements needed to stage a global event of this scale and we have been very impressed with the enthusiasm and commitment from the City of Turin who will welcome thousands of fans next May.
This will be the first Eurovision Song Contest to be held in Italy in 30 years and, together with our Host broadcaster Rai, we are determined to make it a special one.”
– Eurovision Song Contest Executive Supervisor, Martin Österdahl
“We are happy that Turin will host the next edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, the international festival loved by a huge audience in every country.
Thanks to the beautiful victory of the Måneskin, the Contest returns to Italy after 31 years, in a city that has all the characteristics to host such a prestigious event.
The choice made by Rai, together with EBU, was not easy given the very high level of the proposals made by the competing cities, which I thank for their enthusiastic participation.
From today, an exciting journey begins for Rai and the city of Turin that will lead us to May 2022. A great challenge for Rai and for our country”
– CEO of Italian broadcaster Rai, Carlo Fuortes
“Hosting the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Turin is, at the same time, a great honour and a great result for our city and our country. After inaugurating a new season of great events, Turin will be a stage for music and culture, in a dynamic and inclusive international event that will involve the whole city. We are delighted to represent Italy in front of such a large audience and we are already preparing to welcome guests from all over Europe. As always, we will be ready.”
– Mayor of Turin, Chiara Appendino
Are you happy with Turin being host city for 2022? Are you planning on attending the contest? Be sure to let us know in the comments.
