The finale of this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, which was broadcast from the ESPRIT arena in Düsseldorf, met everyone’s highest expectations. Participants Ell and Nikki from Azerbaijan weren’t the only winners of the evening. Everyone involved agrees that the show itself was also a great success. NDR, the City of Düsseldorf, and DüsseldorfCongress, which operates the ESPRIT arena, offer rave reviews:

“The challenge of turning of football stadium into a gigantic television studio with tens of thousands of viewers really paid off. Public interest in Germany was enormous – you can see that clearly from the outstanding statistics,” glows NDR's Director General Lutz Marmor. 35,000 viewers watched the finals live in the ESPRIT arena, 13.83 million people watched the Eurovision Song Contest on German television, and 120 million people worldwide followed the action on other channels.

Mayor Dirk Elbers is proud of his city: 'Modern day Düsseldorf is a pulsating economic metropolis with a generous portion of Rheinland feeling. The ECS’s power to connect nations was brought to life in Düsseldorf. International guests, fans and citizens enjoyed a fantastic celebration here together – in the arena as well as at 86 additional city-wide events, exciting the broad and enthusiastic participation of Düsseldorf residents. This year’s ESC was a mega event for the entire region.'

“We are very proud that the ESPRIT arena was able to position itself even in the lead-up to the ESC as the top venue in Germany. Our modern multipurpose arena met everyone’s highest expectations. The great praise it received from the sponsor and the press has improved its international reputation even further,“ sums up Hilmar Guckert, management spokesperson of DüsseldorfCongress.

This summer, the ESPRIT arena is pleased to host Herbert Grönemeyer and other international stars, such as The Black Eyed Peas and Take That – it promises to be an exciting summer concert season, indeed.