We’d already sadly resigned ourselves to the fact that Eurovision wouldn’t be coming to London when the seven finalists for the UK host city were revealed. And, while we may still keep a box of tissues at our sides for whenever the memory of what could have been rears its head, we’re still eagerly awaiting the news of the final host city. And now BBC has chopped the list from seven possible cities down to two. It’s all very dramatic really, watching cities fall by the wayside in the quest to find out who will host Eurovision.
Liverpool and Glasgow have been revealed as the final two cities in the running. And now, they face off in an ultimate deathmatch (okay, not really) to decide a victor. Just missing out on the chance to host were Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle, and Sheffield.
How will the final host city be determined?
To be in with a chance at hosting, cities have to meet a certain set of criteria. For example, there has to be a venue with sufficient space to host the huge event. Plus, the cities need to have the money to support the event. The host city will also have to commit to showing Ukrainian culture as much as possible and have their own culture to offer alongside the contest. As Eurovision will bring a huge amount of tourism to the UK, the final host city 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 whoever ends up hosting will need to provide accommodation for about 2,000 people, such as journalists, delegates, and ticket-buyers. Distance from an international transport hub is also an essential part of the decision making process.
This will be the ninth time that the UK hosts Eurovision. This is the highest number of times that any country has hosted the contest. 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.”
Now, if you’ll excuse us we’re going to go ahead and start plugging Glasgow and Liverpool into our map apps. How long would it take to walk to those places?