Are we going to Helsinki next year, or is it going to be Turku where the 2007 Eurovision Song Contest is going to take place? And yes, even Mr. Lordi's birth place Rovaniemi bids to host the 52nd edition of the competition! At the winners press conference, right after Lordi's monsterous victory, YLE already announced that Helsinki is the most likely host city for the 2007 competition. An overview of the potential venues…

Turku and Rovaniemi
Turku has offered their Elysée Arena for free, while the Lappi Arena in Rovaniemi also offered to host the competition free of charge to YLE. Finnish media reported that the Finnish broadcaster will consider Turku's offer. Nevertheless, Turku's weak point it the availability of hardly 5,000 hotel beds.

Hartwall Arena in Helsinki
The most mentioned venue for next year's competition is the Hartwall Areena in Helsinki. Although the Jaahalli, Helsinki's old icehockey stadium, and the FinnExpo centre are mentioned as well, both venues are generally considered to have a too small capacity to host the Eurovision Song Contest. The Hartwall Arena is the largest hall in Finland and has good transport connections. There are also two large hotels nearby the venue, which has a concert capacity of 15,000 seats. Anders Backman, the managing director of the hall, has already confirmed earlier this week that the owners would welcome the contest.

Infrastructure and capacity
With the contest now featuring up to 40 entries, the 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.

It is expected that, if YLE comes to a decision about a venue for the 52nd Eurovision Song Contest in the upcoming weeks, the Reference Group will evaluate the host broadcaster's proposal on its next meeting, which will take place in June.