The 2011 Eurovision Song Contest will take place on May 14, 2011 in Düsseldorf at the Esprit Arena football stadium.
The location was confirmed today (Oct. 12) by German broadcasting organization ARD. The venue has a 50,000-capacity.
German entrant Lena Meyer-Landrut won the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest in Oslo with her song “Satellite,” which meant that Germany would host the next event.
Germany’s capital Berlin was a candidate to host the ceremony, but the city’s O2 World venue was already booked.
The other main contenders to host the event were Hamburg, which is home to the NDR TV channel organizing the 2011 contest, and Meyer-Landrut’s hometown of Hannover.
It is expected that 125 million people across Europe will watch the show in May 2011. The TV station NDR estimates that the costs for the organization of the contest will be €20 million ($27 million).
Germany will again be represented by Lena (Universal). The singer sold 600,000 copies of her debut “My Cassette Player” after winning the contest, according to Universal in Berlin.
