Finnish broadcaster YLE has named the two people that will lead their project to stage the 2007 Eurovision Song Contest. Meanwhile, speculations about next year's host city and venue are taking place.

National project
Former Minister of Transport & Communications Olli-Pekka Heinonen will work with YLE Radio Suomi head Ville Vilén. Both have a strong background in broadcasting. YLE Director-General Mikael Jungner has promised there will be no licence-fee hike to pay for staging the contest next year, but hinted that support will have to come from somewhere.

Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen was quick to point out that arranging the spectacle is a national project, and announced that the government would help out, though without writing a blank cheque for the public service broadcasters. Earlier this year, YLE announced that it suffered from financial problems.

Host city and venue
Discussions are underway about where the 2007 contest will take place. The EBU last week announced the provisional dates for 2007 as 10th and 12th May. During the press conference after Lordi's victory, YLE already confirmed that Helsinki will be the host city for the 52nd contest. With the contest now featuring up to 40 songs, any host city needs to be able to provide the infrastructure necessary to house the delegations, journalists and fans that will wish to attend the contest. Helsinki can offer over 13,000 hotel beds, far more than any other city in Finland. YLE has already said that it will not be using the Olympic stadium in the city. The Hartwell Arena, a large icehockey stadium, is the most likely place to host the next contest. It is the largest hall in Finland and has good transport connections. There are also two large hotels nearby. Anders Backman, the Managing Director of the hall has already confirmed that the owners would welcome the contest.

Helsinki faces competition from the capital of Lapland, Rovaniemi. As well as naming a square after the winning group Lordi, the council is bidding to take the contest to its most northerly point. The city of Turku has also offered use of its 10,000-seater main hall at no charge. The infrastructure needed to support the contest though is not as developed in Turku, the city boasts just 5,000 hotel beds.

YLE is expected to present its suggestions for the venue to the Eurovision Song Contest Reference Group when it next meets in June. If the group agree with and approve the choice, it should be possible to announce their choice shortly afterwards.