Liverpool and Glasgow are the two cities that remain in competition to host the Eurovision song contest in 2023, when it will be held in the UK for the first time in 25 years.
The two cities were selected after Birmingham, Leeds, Newcastle, Sheffield and Manchester were dropped from competition to host the musical event. The BBC said a final decision would be made “in a matter of weeks”.
The Ukrainian group Kalush Orchestra triumph during the 2022 competition in Turin, Italy, which would normally have Ukraine host 2023, but the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which is producing the event, decided that the next competition could not take place hold safely in Ukraine due to Russian invasion.
Phil Harrold, chairman of the BBC’s Host Cities Selection Committee, paid tribute to the seven shortlisted cities in what he said was a highly competitive field.
“The Eurovision Song Contest is a very complex and liverpool and Glasgow have the strongest overall offering; we will continue our discussions with them to determine the possible host city,” he said. “We are determined to make the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 an event that both reflects Ukraine’s winning position and an event in which the whole of the UK can participate.”
Instead, the UK, which came second with Sam Ryder’s song space manwas invited to host the 67th Eurovision.
Twenty venues have bid to host the world’s largest and most complex music competition, watched this year by a global audience of 161 million.
In August, a shortlist of 20 UK cities that had submitted an “expression of interest” was published by the BBC, with applicants from the four regions demonstrating how they would reflect Ukrainian culture, music and communities.
Of the seven cities named in August, six were in England and one in ScotlandBelfast having failed to qualify for Northern Ireland.
The requirements included “a suitable venue and sufficient space to meet the requirements of the song contest”, a necessary commitment to the contest, including financial contribution, and “alignment with the BBC’s strategic priorities as a broadcaster of public service”.
Liverpool, a UNESCO City of Music since 2015, is synonymous with the Beatles and has a rich musical heritage. In 2008 the city hosted the MTV Europe Music Awards and is also home to the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.
“Absolutely delighted #Liverpool did the last two for the #Eurovision2023 shortlist,” Liverpool Mayor Joanne Anderson tweeted on Tuesday. “Nowhere is throwing a party just like us. The people, communities and businesses of our city are ready to put on a show – for Ukraine, the UK and Europe. Eurovision in Liverpool. Imagine.”
Meanwhile, Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon expressed her support for Glasgow to host the event in June, with the city’s OVO Hydro arena, which features in the Netflix film Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, rumored to be a prime venue in the UK for host the competition.
Scottish singer Lulu represented Britain at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1969 with Boom Bang-A-Bang. She was co-winner that year as she shared the prize with France, the Netherlands and Spain with 18 points each.
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