Austria grappling with venue, funding for next Eurovision Song Contest

By Francois Murphy

VIENNA (Reuters) - The Austrian government and national broadcaster ORF are grappling with where to host the next Eurovision Song Contest and how to cover the cost, officials said on Sunday after their country's entry won the competition for the third time.

Apart from jubilation at the resounding victory overnight of "Wasted Love" by 24-year-old operatic singer Johannes Pietsch, known as JJ, much of the public discussion in Austria has been about the tens of millions of euros hosting the event will cost.

The contest's final in Basel, Switzerland, came days after Austria's new centrist coalition government presented a budget dominated by belt-tightening measures. As the country heads towards a third year of recession, its budget deficit has grown well beyond the European Union's limit of 3% of economic output.

Asked by his own broadcaster how the cost of the event would be covered, ORF chief Roland Weissmann said: "If I had a perfect answer today, that would be a bit like witchcraft. But in the days before (the final) when there was a chance we would win, we did start thinking about it."

"We are in intensive discussions with Austrian officialdom," he said, adding that there would be a "transparent process" to determine where the contest would be held.

Vienna, by far the country's largest city, hosted the event 10 years ago after Conchita Wurst won with "Rise Like a Phoenix". Weissmann said many other cities and communities had already expressed an interest.

Speaking on ORF moments after Weissmann, Vice Chancellor Andreas Babler of the Social Democrats, who is also culture minister, was guarded, saying only that "serious discussions" were underway.

JJ has said he would like the contest to be held in Vienna, his hometown. He also told ORF he had some other requests, including hosting the event himself.

"I would like to fly into the opening ceremony. That would be great. But we still have to discuss that," JJ said, adding that it would be similar to the official video of his song in which he appears to float in the air.

Official discussions on funding are likely to focus on how the Austrian share of the costs should be spread between entities like ORF, the government and the host city or state.

According to the Eurovision Song Contest's website, the event is mainly funded by participating broadcasters' fees, contributions by the host broadcaster and host city as well as revenue from items like sponsorship deals, ticket sales and public voting for songs.

While hosting the event is at odds with the government's savings drive, there is little doubt that funding will be available, and ministers have also looked on the lighter side.

Finance Minister Markus Marterbauer posted overnight on Instagram a satirical website's headline that said to avoid the cost of hosting the next contest he had voted for the favorite, Sweden, 3,000 times.

His caption: "It wasn't enough..."

(Reporting by Francois Murphy; Editing by Paul Simao)