The UK host city for the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 is set to be announced this evening (October 7).
Last month, it was confirmed that either Glasgow or Liverpool will be staging next year’s event on behalf of Eurovision 2022 winners Ukraine. A shortlist of seven potential cities was announced in August before organisers whittled it down to two.
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Yesterday (October 6), BBC Eurovision commentator Graham Norton told Chris Evans on Virgin Radio that he would be “discussing where Eurovision is going to be” on TV tonight alongside this year’s runner-up, Sam Ryder.
“Because we’ll know by then,’ Norton said. Ryder will appear as a guest on The Graham Norton Show on BBC One tonight at 10:40pm.
Evans then suggested that Norton could be making an announcement on The One Show at 7pm this evening. “I hope this is OK to say, but yes I am,” he responded.
“Unless I’m not supposed to say this, and in which case someone else… Sam Ryder will be there opening an envelope.”
The United Kingdom’s entry Ryder came in at second place to Ukraine’s Kalush Orchestra at Eurovison 2022, scoring an impressive 466 points overall with his song ‘Space Man’.
It was subsequently confirmed that the BBC would host next year’s event in the UK on due to the ongoing war in Ukraine. Numerous cities then made bids to stage the contest. The initial shortlist included Birmingham, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield.
Those cities were selected having met certain criteria, such as venue capacity, being within easy reach of an international airport, and having enough hotel accommodation to hold delegates, journalists and spectators.
Per the BBC, the selection process was heavily weighted towards the cities proving past experience in hosting major international events, as well as being able to demonstrate their ability to stage a celebration of contemporary music.
Phil Harrold, the chair of the BBC’s Host City Selection Committee, last month said that Glasgow and Liverpool had put forward the “strongest overall offer[s]” in a “highly competitive field”.
He added: “We will continue our discussions with them to determine the eventual host city.”
It was said at the time that a final decision would be made “within weeks”.
The Eurovision Song Contest 2023 will take place at either the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool or the OVO Hydro in Glasgow next May.
The UK has staged the Eurovision Song Contest eight times previously: London (1960, 1963, 1968 and 1977), Edinburgh (1972), Brighton (1974), Harrogate (1982) and Birmingham (1998).
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