We bought you our predictions back in May after Germany was announced the winner – so the question remains – who will be our host city in 2011?

Originally we speculated Berlin, Cologne, Hannover or Hamburg would host – turns out the four bidding cities are Berlin, Düsseldorf, Hannover and Hamburg.

A poll by Morgen Post revealed the German public preferred Berlin (58%) to host the contest. Hannover (12%) and Hamburg (11%) were the next popular cities.

The capital – of course – our first thoughts was that we are headed to Berlin. Berlin has an internationally recognised culture and it was awarded the title of “City of Design” by UNESCO in 2005.

If Berlin were to host, we’d be headed to the Tempelhof Airport. Uh-oh!. This is unfortunately not the biggest venue for the contest and probably would reach capacity at under 10,000 people. Usually the hall is used for trade fairs and smaller events – Berlin does have far larger venues but they did not end up being the proposed venue or possibly even being secured by the bidders – we can only speculate.

Above: Panorama of Berlin

Düsseldorf is situated very close to Cologne and sits near the Rhine River. Modern Düsseldorf is business and financially friendly and is known for its fashion and trade fairs.

Düsseldorf proposes the biggest arena with the “Esprit Arena” having a capacity of over 50,000. The size however could prove to be an issue for spectators and the camera work – but has the overall best suited arena for the contest’s modern technical needs.

Above: Panorama of Düsseldorf

One of the first cities to be suggested was Hamburg. It is the second-largest city in Germany and has a buzzing culture and nightlife with over 40 theatres, 60 museums and 100 music venues and clubs.

The proposed venue is the “A1″ hall (oh, how Eurovision!) and can hold an audience of just under 10,000 people.

Above: Panorama of Hamburg

The latest rumour seems to suggest that we’ll be heading to Hannover next May. Sources say the German commentator suggested after the German victory that the TUI Arena in Hannover may just be our venue for 2011. The arena opened in 2000 and holds a maximum of 14,000 people for music events.

However, the TUI Arena will not be the proposed venue as the “Messehalle 2″ has been put forth in Hannover’s bid. The fair hall was designed by Bühnemann and Polonyi but at this stage we do not know its possible capacity for the contest – however we do not expect it to exceed 10,000 seats.

Above: Panorama of Hannover

Images: wikipedia.org & google images