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Kiev to host 2017 Eurovision Song contest

Xinhua, September 10, 2016 Adjust font size:

Ukraine's organization committee of the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest announced on Friday that the event would be held in Kiev, the capital of the country.

"Kiev was chosen as a host city of the Eurovision-2017 -- it has received 19 votes, Odessa city got two votes, while one jury member has abstained," said Zurab Alasaniya, the head of the Ukrainian National Television Company and the organizer of the contest.

Speaking at a press conference in Kiev, Alasaniya said that the International Exhibition Centre will be the venue for the event.

Meanwhile, Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko has pledged that the contest will run smoothly as the Ukrainian capital has an experience in staging large-scale international events.

"Apart from the experience of hosting the Eurovision-2005, the Ukrainian capital has held the finals of the Euro-2012 European soccer championship. Thus, we have the positive experience and every opportunity to organize and hold the contest at the highest level," Klitschko said.

According to him, currently, Kiev has a total of 265 hotels, which can accommodate some 23,000 of Eurovision fans.

The International Exhibition Centre, located on the left bank of the Dnieper River, is designed to host up to 50,000 spectators, Klitschko added.

According to the Ukrainian Culture Ministry, the cost of staging the song contest would be around 45 million U.S. dollars.

In May, Ukraine was granted the right to host the Eurovision-2017 after its singer Susana Jamaladinova, who uses the stage name Jamala, won the 2016 Eurovision edition in Stockholm, Sweden.

Apart from Kiev, Ukraine's southern Black Sea resort of Odessa and Dnipro city in central part of the country were nominated for the host cities of the Eurovision Song Contest 2017. Endit