Potential host cities for Eurovision 2023 are: Birmingham, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield. The news was shared on Friday morning by Radio 2’s Scott Mills on Zoe Ball’s morning show. Twenty cities had originally bid to take part. Cities bidding to take part have been judged on various criteria, including having a venue that can host at least 10,000 people and having access to an international airport. It’s a two-stage selection process – we now have a shortlist of cities that will be re-evaluated, looking at things like availability of resources and experience of hosting major events. Image: Ukraine’s Kalush Orchestra won this year’s competition While the BBC and the European Broadcasting Union will ultimately decide on the host city, the government may also be consulted on the decision. Ukraine won this year’s competition, with the Kalush Orchestra taking first place with their song Stephania. It has since become an anthem for the war-torn country amid its ongoing war with Russia. The UK took second place, with Sam Ryder’s Spaceman. But last month the EBU decided the event could not be held in Ukraine next year as the risk of Russian airstrikes and mass casualties was too high. The BBC will broadcast the competition on behalf of Ukraine’s national broadcaster, UA:PBC. The UK holds the record for hosting the event, with next year marking the ninth time the event will be held here. It has previously been performed at Brighton Dome, Wembley Arena, Harrogate International Centre, and most recently in 1998 at Birmingham’s National Indoor Arena. And four of those times were as guest hosts – entering the event despite not winning the previous year. Image: Sam Ryder was runner-up this year with his Space Man track Eurovision is the biggest live music event in the world – the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest reached a global audience of more than 180 million viewers across TV and digital platforms. Ukraine is expected to play a large role in the production of the show, and there is an expectation that the hosts and entertainment units will be Ukrainian. UK charity British Future has offered Ukrainian refugees and their UK host families priority tickets to attend the event, to celebrate the welcoming efforts of those in the UK and across Europe who have offered their homes to people in need. As winners, Ukraine will receive automatic entry to next year’s final, along with the so-called ‘big five’ nations (UK, France, Italy, Spain and Germany), who contribute the most financially to the tournament. Subscribe to the Backstage podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Spreaker There will also be questions about the millions in funding and where it will come from, amid concerns over the cost of living crisis, BBC cuts and whether Ukraine could contribute. How to get tickets or pricing has yet to be confirmed – all to be decided after the host city is chosen. Charity British Future proposed offering “priority tickets” to Ukrainian refugees and their hosts in the UK, in the spirit of “friendship and co-operation between European neighbours”. The host city is expected to be announced in the fall.
