Serbia's Capital May Host MTV Europe Music Awards
Text by Bojana Barlovac for Balkan Insight
In an interview with daily Blic, Ehr expressed his belief that there are plenty of people in Serbia who are capable of organising such a show, pointing also to the successful organisation of the Eurovision Song Contest in 2008.
"Regardless of what it might cost, host cities always benefit from organising the event. For example, after hosting the 2003 show, the Scottish capital of Edinburgh collected revenues of €13 million according to EMA’s estimates, not including the prestige and promotion that came with hosting the event,” the daily quoted the MTV representative as saying.
As an alternative to the American MTV Video Music Awards, MTV Networks Europe established the EMAs in 1994 with the aim of celebrating the most popular music videos in Europe in a different city each year.
The 2009 EMA event was held in Berlin, where internationally renowned singer Beyonce won a total of three EMA trophies.
According to Ehr, the host city of the 2010 MTV European Music Awards is soon to be revealed.
Speaking at a conference announcing the March 29 concert of Tokio Hotel, the general manager of the Belgrade Arena, Dejan Petricevic, said that Belgrade will compete to host the EMAs, adding that there are realistic chances that the city will be selected.
“There are two favourable details for Belgrade: firstly, MTV has decided to set up an independent channel for the region, with its headquarters in the Serbian capital.
"Secondly, the Belgrade Arena has managed to establish direct cooperation with all major regional and global entertainment promoters and ensure that the biggest performance artists and stars include Belgrade in their tours. Our city is on their itineraries for the next two or three years,” Petricevic said.
Ehr explained that key elements for hosting the event include the proposed venue of the event, the availability of several thousand upscale hotel rooms, transportation options and how intent and serious the city is about hosting the event.
This article is courtesy of Balkan Insight, the online publication of the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network, which contains analytical reports, in-depth analyses and investigations and news items from throughout the region covering major challenges of the political, social and economic transition in the Balkans.
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