It’s official, Eurovision 2023 will take place in either Liverpool or Glasgow, and we have our fingers crossed for Liverpool! The BBC has just announced that the two will now go head to head with their bids to host.
Up until today there had been 7 cities left with a chance of hosting Eurovision 2023, including Newcastle, Sheffield, Leeds, Manchester and Birmingham. The decision to hold it in the UK this time around was due to the war in Ukraine, where the contest was supposed to be held.
And then there were two…
We can now reveal that #Eurovision 2023 will be hosted in either Glasgow or Liverpool 🥳
Learn all about the final two here: https://t.co/NNzZP97Ml6 pic.twitter.com/lxtwMYO6Ac
— Eurovision Song Contest (@Eurovision) September 27, 2022
Why Liverpool?
Well, the seven cities that were shortlisted had to meet a certain criteria. For example, there had to be a venue with sufficient space to host the huge event. Plus, the cities had to have the money to do it.
They also had to commit to showing Ukrainian culture as much as possible and have their own culture to offer, which Liverpool has in spades. As the contest will bring a huge amount of tourism to the UK the cities also has to commit to ‘supporting the creative economy in the UK’ and ‘providing value to all the audiences’.
There will be about 10,000 spectators at the event and Liverpool will need to provide accommodation for about 2,000 people too, such as journalists who will come to cover the event. Liverpool is also ideally situated close to an airport.
This will be the ninth time that the UK hosts Eurovision, which is the highest number of times that any country has hosted it. Regarding the decision, Phil Harrold, who chairs the Host City Selection Committee for the BBC said:
‘Thanks to all 7 cities across the UK who have demonstrated the enthusiasm and passion for Eurovision that exists right across the UK. We were incredibly impressed by the quality and creativity of all the city bids, in what was a highly competitive field. The Eurovision Song Contest is a very complex event and Liverpool and Glasgow have the strongest overall offer; we will continue our discussions with them to determine the eventual host city.
We are determined to make the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest one that both reflects the winning position of Ukraine and is also an event that all of the UK can participate in.’
It would be great to have it here in Liverpool, and as we’re already a UNESCO Music City it seems fitting that the contest would come here. However, we’ll have to wait and see!