Liverpool and Glasgow have been announced as the final two cities in the competition to host the 67th Eurovision Song Contest in 2023.
In its latest announcement this afternoon, the BBC revealed that the other five shortlisted cities in the race to host the world’s most coveted celebration of gaudy pop – Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield – have been unceremoniously dropped from the running and will have to return to their more traditional musical diets of heavy metal, goth rock, indie guitar anthems, House of the Rising Sun and experimental electronica respectively, at least until the next time the UK hosts the event.
Further discussions will now take place with officials from Glasgow and Liverpool and a final decision will be made “within weeks.”
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.”
The UK is hosting the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest on behalf of Ukraine, which won the competition this year, but was deemed unsafe for the event following Russia’s invasion. The final decision on the host city of the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest is a matter for the BBC in conjunction with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU).
