Glasgow or Liverpool to host Eurovision 2023

The 67th Eurovision Song Contest will be held in either Glasgow and Liverpool in 2023.

The BBC has confirmed five other cities Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield are no longer in the running following a detailed assessment process.

The UK is hosting the 2023 contest on behalf of Ukraine, which won the competition this year.

Phil Harrold, the chair of the BBC’s Host City Selection Committee says: “Thanks to all seven 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.”

Martin Österdahl, Executive Supervisor for the Eurovision Song Contest, said, “The EBU would like to warmly thank all the 7 British cities that put so much effort and enthusiasm into their bids to host next year’s Eurovision Song Contest on behalf of Ukraine. We very much appreciate their cooperation and the quality and creativity of all the bids received.

“The Eurovision Song Contest is the most complex TV production in the world with very specific logistical requirements to accommodate around 40 delegations and thousands of crew, volunteers, press and fans.

“We’re confident our final two cities are the best placed to meet this challenge and look forward to continuing our discussions to choose the one which will stage the world’s largest music event next May.”

Further discussions will now take place with officials from Glasgow and Liverpool and a final decision will be made within weeks by the BBC in conjunction with the European Broadcasting Union.