The City of Vienna has officially submitted its bid to host the forthcoming Eurovision Song Contest 2026 with the slovan ‘Europe, shall we dance?’
Vienna is gearing up in full steam in its quest to host the forthcoming ESC edition in Austria. The City of Vienna has officially submitted its bid to host ESC 2026 with the iconic slogan ‘Europe, shall we dance?‘. The Mayor of Vienna Mr. Michael Ludwig officially submitted the City of Vienna’s ESC 2026 bid today to the Austrian national broadcaster ORF.
Vienna is planning to host the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest at the Wiener Stadthalle, the very same venue which successfully hosted ESC 2015. The city boast of an international airport with excellent international flight connections to most European capitals, Asia, Middle East and North America.
Vienna has an enormous accomodation capacity with a large number of hotels and boasts of an excellent transport system connecting the whole city.
Michael Ludwig (Mayor of Vienna) says:
With our application today, we are making a clear commitment: We want to bring the Song Contest to Vienna. We are ready! We have proven many times in the past that Vienna is a cosmopolitan city that welcomes event attendees with open arms and offers them a wonderful stay. I am convinced that Vienna is the best location to represent Austria around the world.
Barbara Novak ( Vienna City Councillor) says:
With the Eurovision Song Contest, we are showcasing Vienna as a metropolis of solidarity, creativity, and international openness. The Eurovision Song Contest will not only bring profitable economic stimulus to Vienna. Our bid alone demonstrates that Vienna can present itself as a global stage—and that it is both sustainable and inclusive. I am committed to these priorities
The perfect host city
The City of Vienna’s official press release reads:
The city boasts extensive experience in hosting large-scale events, its enormous accommodation capacity, its excellent transport links, and its cosmopolitanism, which makes it even more attractive as a metropolis with a population of millions. Sustainability also plays a key role, as Vienna doesn’t require the creation of new infrastructure because the existing infrastructure is ideally suited to large-scale events.
Great experience hosting large scale events
Vienna is a city that has great experience when it comes to hosting large scale events.
The City of Vienna’s official press release continues to read:
Vienna hosted the Eurovision Song Contest in 2015. In addition, international events are regularly held, such as the Beach Volleyball World Championship, the Erste Bank Open, and multi-day concerts such as Coldplay, which attract around 250,000 visitors over four days. The city hosts more than 6,000 congresses and corporate conferences per year. Events with up to 30,000 participants are no problem.
Large number of hotel accomodation capacity and excellent transport connections
Vienna offers a massive hotel accomodation capacity and an excellent transport system
The City of Vienna’s official press release reads:
The Viennese hotel industry boasts around 82,000 beds in 41,000 rooms in 433 hotels across all categories – that’s around a quarter more than at the last Song Contest in 2015.
Vienna is also extremely accessible: Vienna is the best-connected city in Europe by rail – this also applies to night trains. 16 destinations are easily accessible by night train from Vienna, more than from any other EU capital.
Vienna is accessible by direct flights from 195 locations in 65 countries via 72 airlines. From the airport, the city center can be reached within 16 minutes. Vienna also boasts an excellent public transport network: With over 1,000 kilometers of public transport, every corner of the city is easily accessible.
The deadline for Austrian cities and regions to officially apply to host ESC 2026 concludes tomorrow Friday 4 July. Only two cities are set to officially bid to host ESC 2026: Innsbruck and Vienna.
ORF and the EBU are expected to unveil the name of the ESC 2026 Host City and the dates by mid August.
