THE BBC has provided an update on the bidding process for the 67th Eurovision Song Contest, and confirmed that two cities, Glasgow and Liverpool, remain in competition to be the 2023 Host City.
Back in August, it was announced that 7 cities (Birmingham, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, and Sheffield) had been shortlisted as candidate Host Cities.
Following a detailed assessment process these seven cities have been reduced to two. Further discussions will now take place with officials from Glasgow and Liverpool and a final decision will be made within weeks.
Martin Österdahl, Executive Supervisor for the Eurovision Song Contest, thanked the competing cities:
"The EBU (European Broadcasting Union) 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."
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
Phil Harrold, the chair of the BBC’s Host City Selection Committee, added:
"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."
The final decision on the Host City of the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest will be decided by the BBC in conjunction with the European Broadcasting Union.
