The Italian city of Turin has won the race to become the host city of the 66th Eurovision Song Contest. Seventeen cities had posted a bid to host Eurovision. The Grand Final will be held in PalaOlimpico on Saturday 14 May with Semi-Finals on 10 and 12 May.

The capital of Piedmont will be the third Italian city to host the event after Naples in 1965 and Rome in 1991. Italy won ESC 2021 in Rotterdam with Måneskin‘s ‘Zitti e buoni‘.

Eurovision Song Contest Executive Supervisor Martin Österdahl had this to say: “As we saw during the 2006 Winter Olympics, PalaOlimpico exceeds all the requirements needed to stage a global event of this scale and we have been very impressed with the enthusiasm and commitment from the City of Turin who will welcome thousands of fans next May. This will be the first Eurovision Song Contest to be held in Italy in 30 years and, together with our Host broadcaster Rai, we are determined to make it a special one.”

Carlo Fuortes from Italian broadcaster Rai: ” The choice made by Rai, together with EBU, was not easy given the very high level of the proposals made by the competing cities, which I thank for their enthusiastic participation.

Turin

“Located at the foot of the Alps, our destination is famed for its galleries and museums, parks and piazzas, palaces and castles, as well as the superb examples of Renaissance, Baroque, Rococo, Neoclassical, and Art Nouveau architecture”, Eurovision.tv says.

Turin is the home of Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino (FIAT); the ‘Derby della Mole‘ between Juventus and Torino FC; the Holy Shroud; and is the birthplace of Italian cinema.

The silent movie ‘Cabiria‘ (1914), shot in Turin by film pioneer Giovanni Pastrone, became the first motion picture to be distributed worldwide, as well as being the first movie screened at the White House. From neorealism to cinepanettoni, the moving picture is celebrated at the Museo Nazionale del Cinema inside the spectacular Mole Antonelliana.

The wider Piedmont (which translates as ‘The foot of the mountain’) region alone is known for its Montebore, Castelmagno and Robiola di Roccaverano cheeses, Salsiccia di Bra (sausage), Piedmontese beef, Grissini breadsticks, Barolo wine, vermouth, white truffles, hazelnuts and, of course, Nutella.

Visiting Turing

Danny visited Turin in 2018. “I was surprised by Turin, the city was much nicer and welcoming than I anticipated. For Italian standards it’s a clean and well-structured city, with a very nice central pedestrianised main street with arcades along both sides. As a city with a rich history and a former Italian capital there are plenty of historic sights, buildings and museums to explore”, Danny writes in his city report.

“I really liked Turin and I will most likely pass there again on a future trip in Northern Italy as there where clearly some more interesting buildings and museums I missed out on. If you are looking for an interesting place to spend one or two days in northern Italy, Turin sure is not to be missed.”

Getting to Turin

Turin has airport, Turin Airport (TRN).

Torino Porta Nuova Railway Station mostly connects Turin to other Italian cities. Torino Porta Susa connects the city to Paris and Lyon.

Previously on Eurovision

• Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Italy: go by train.
• Eurovision Song Contest 2021 in Rotterdam at the Ahoy Arena. 
• Bulgaria wins Eurovision Song Contest 2020. 
• Switzerland wins Eurovision Song Contest 2020.
• Impressions of Eurovision Song Contest 2020 host city Rotterdam.
• HOW TO | Travel to the Eurovision Song Contest. 
• Malta wins 2021 Eurovision Song Contest.

Trains in Italy

• How we plan a big rail trip.
• Trenitalia Frecciarossa high speed train between Florence and Venice in Business Executive class.
• 2018 Rail Tour of France, Italy and Switzerland.
• From Locarno to Brig, via the Centovalli, through Italy and the Simplon tunnel.