The municipal machinery of Copenhagen has thrown its full weight behind the capital city bit for the Eurovision Song Contest 2014, as esctoday.com reported this week. But it’s not all about Parken, as DR mulls over three alternative venues in the bid.

Tourist organisation Wonderful Copenhagen, coordinating the capital bid with the city authorities, has put forward multiple venue proposals, the most well-known to fans being the 2001 contest stadium. One of its more interesting ideas is the use of DR Byen, home of the national broadcaster. The proposal is not interesting for the location, but more for the manner in which it will house the fans and singers – in a giant tent on a large plot of land at the television HQ. Wonderful Copenhagen push the suitability of DR Byen on the grounds of its world class status as a media corporation, and all the diversity of people and ideas that entails. Additionally, it certainly does not hurt the prospects for planning and logistics either, with the armoury of equipment for broadcasting television shows right on the doorstep.

Playground for entertainment

Then there is the B&W Hall. The old shipyard buildings lie on an island in Copenhagen’s harbour, but since the bankruptcy of the old firms, the redeveloped area is now a “playground for culture and entertainment” according to Wonderful Copenhagen. It has the benefit of lending itself to any outlay, being a “clean venue” with a look that can be tailored to order. It recently welcomed metal fans for the annual Danish outdoor metal festival, Copenhell, so has already shown that it can cope when awash with aficionados.

Certainly, bigger is not better, as a successful show in Malmö proved in 2013. So for fans worried about Parken’s shortcomings at the 2001 contest, there are some interesting alternatives. Not included in the proposal are the Bella Centre and the Ballerup Super Arena, leaving three big venues for DR to chew over when considering the Copenhagen bid. As the man behind the Wonderful Copenhagen package, Lars Bernhard Jørgensen, says: what matters is best for Denmark. Eager fans will soon find out if DR believes that is the capital.