The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual international song competition held by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) since 1956. This page is a list of cities and venues that have hosted the contest one or more times.
The contest has frequently been held in a capital city. The six editions spanning from to are to date the longest span of consecutive editions without a capital hosting the event. This record was previously held by the four editions between and .
Host cities
No. Country City Venue Year 9 London Royal Festival Hall BBC Television Centre Royal Albert Hall Wembley Conference Centre Edinburgh Usher Hall Brighton Brighton Dome Harrogate Harrogate International Centre Birmingham National Indoor Arena Liverpool Liverpool Arena 7 Dublin Gaiety Theatre RDS Simmonscourt Pavilion Point Theatre Millstreet Green Glens Arena Stockholm Globe Arena Gothenburg Malmö Malmö Arena 5 Hilversum AVRO Studios Amsterdam The Hague Rotterdam Rotterdam Ahoy 4 Luxembourg City Villa Louvigny 3 Cannes Paris Vienna Bergen Oslo Telenor Arena Frankfurt am Main Munich Düsseldorf Düsseldorf Arena Copenhagen Parken Stadium Jerusalem International Convention Center Tel Aviv Expo Tel Aviv Naples Rome Stage 15, Studios Turin Lugano Lausanne Basel 2 Kyiv Palace of Sports International Exhibition Centre 1 Madrid Brussels Centenary Palace Zagreb Vatroslav Lisinski Concert Hall Tallinn Riga Skonto Hall Istanbul Abdi İpekçi Arena Athens Olympic Indoor Hall Helsinki Hartwall Arena Belgrade Belgrade Arena Moscow Olimpiyskiy Arena Baku Baku Crystal Hall Lisbon Lisbon Arena Burgas Arena Burgas
Special events
Country City Venue Event Occasion Year Mysen Momarken Songs of Europe Commemorating the 25th anniversary of the contest 1981 Ljubljana TV SLO Studio 1 Pre-qualification round held for the between eastern European countries 1993 Copenhagen Forum Copenhagen Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest Commemorating the 50th anniversary of the contest 2005 London Eventim Apollo Eurovision Song Contest's Greatest Hits Commemorating the 60th anniversary of the contest 2015 Hilversum Studio 21, Media Park Eurovision: Europe Shine a Light Replacement show for the , which was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic 2020
Hosting traditions and exceptions
The tradition of the winning broadcaster hosting the following year's event was established in . A number of exceptions to this rule have occurred since, typically when the winning broadcaster had already hosted the event in the recent past. These exceptions are listed below:
: hosted by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in London when the Netherlands' (NTS) declined due to expense, having previously hosted the 1958 contest. The BBC was chosen to host after finishing in second place in . : hosted by the BBC in London when France's (RTF) declined due to expense, having previously hosted the contest in and . The second- and third-placed in , Monaco's Télé Monte Carlo (TMC) and Luxembourg's (CLT) also declined when offered hosting duties. : hosted by (NOS) in Amsterdam following a ballot to determine the host, after the produced four winners. : hosted by the BBC in Edinburgh when Monaco's TMC was unable to provide a suitable venue. The second- and third-placed in , Spain's (TVE) and Germany's ARD also declined when offered hosting duties. The EBU invited the BBC to host the event due to their previous experience. : hosted by the BBC in Brighton when Luxembourg's CLT declined due to expense after staging the . : hosted by NOS in the Hague when Israel's Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA) declined due to expense after staging the . The Dutch offered to host the contest after several other broadcasters, reportedly including runner-up Spain's TVE and the BBC, were unwilling to do so. : hosted by the BBC in Liverpool on behalf of Ukraine's , after the EBU decided that Ukraine would not be able to host the event due to security concerns caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The BBC was chosen to host after finishing in second place in .
With 's invitation to participate in the contest in , it was announced that should it win the contest, Australian broadcaster Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) would co-host the following year's contest in a European city in collaboration with an EBU member broadcaster of its choice.
Host city insignia
The host city insignia is a rotating trophy awarded to cities hosting the Eurovision Song Contest, proposed jointly by the city of Helsinki, the Finnish broadcaster Yleisradio (Yle) and the EBU in conjunction with the , and was used annually until .
The insignia takes the form of a large key ring to which the host cities can attach their city key or other symbol representing the city. The insignia exchange usually takes place in conjunction with the semi-final allocation draw. The insignia is then traditionally put on display in a public place, such as the city hall or another venue of local significance, for the remainder of the year. The insignia's concept and fob were designed by the Anteeksi group, while the key ring was designed by jewellery designer Taru Tonder. Hand-engraved on the ring are the following texts: "Eurovision Song Contest Host City", all host cities up until 2006, and a "Helsinki 2007" stamp with the initials of the insignia designers. Additionally, the fob has a picture of the Helsinki Senate Square attached to the ring.
From 2025 onwards, the host city handover is symbolised by a "friendship gift" from the preceding host city to its successor, which stays permanently in each city.
Semi-final allocation drawing venue Since the introduction of the two semi-finals system in , a draw has been held to determine in which semi-final a country would participate, as well as in which semi-final a country would vote in. Each year, either five or six countries are exempt from the drawing for competing in the semi-finals: the "Big Five" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom) and the host country, if the host is not one of the "Big Five". In , the number of countries exempt was seven, as Australia joined the other six exempt countries as a special guest contestant.
Regardless if a country is exempt from competing in the semi-finals, all participating countries are allotted a semi-final in which to vote.
Year Venue City Old Palace Belgrade Marriott Royal Aurora Hotel Moscow Oslo Esprit Arena Düsseldorf Buta Palace Baku Malmö Copenhagen City Hall Copenhagen Vienna City Hall Vienna Stockholm City Hall Stockholm Column Hall of Kyiv City State Administration Kyiv Lisbon City Hall Lisbon Tel Aviv Museum of Art Tel Aviv Rotterdam City Hall Rotterdam Palazzo Madama Turin St George's Hall Liverpool Malmö Town Hall Malmö Basel Vienna City Hall Vienna Running order drawing venue Previously, the running order was determined at a dedicated event. This has been made redundant following the implementation of producer-created running orders in . Year Venue City Villa Louvigny Luxembourg City Mansion House Dublin National Concert Hall Dublin Clarence Hotel Dublin Finlandia Hall Helsinki Sava Centar Belgrade Cosmos Hotel Moscow Buta Palace Baku
Receptions and opening ceremony venues An official opening ceremony with a red carpet procession has been held since 2009 at a venue in the host city. Prior to that, a welcome reception was typically held for all participating artists and hosted by the mayor of the host city.
Table key
Year Venue City Gothenburg Malmö Great Southern Hotel Killarney Cork City Hall Cork Dining Hall, Trinity College Dublin Royal Hospital Kilmainham Dublin Oslo City Hall Oslo International Convention Centre Birmingham Israel Museum Jerusalem Çırağan Palace Istanbul Zappeion Athens Finlandia Hall Helsinki Palace of Serbia Belgrade Central Manezh Exhibition Center Moscow Oslo City Hall Oslo Düsseldorf Baku Sports Palace Baku Malmö Opera Malmö Copenhagen City Hall Copenhagen and Vienna City Hall Vienna Stockholm City Hall Stockholm Mariinskyi Palace and Parkovy Congress and Exhibition Center Kyiv Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology and Electricity Museum Lisbon Habima Square and Charles Bronfman Auditorium Tel Aviv Rotterdam Cruise Terminal ◇ Rotterdam ◇ Rotterdam Cruise Terminal Rotterdam Palace of Venaria Turin Walker Art Gallery and St George's Hall Liverpool Malmö Live Malmö Basel Town Hall, Middle Bridge, and Congress Center Basel Basel , , and Vienna City Hall Vienna
See also List of Junior Eurovision Song Contest host cities
Notes
References
Further reading