The European Broadcasting Union and the BBC announced on Monday (25 July), that the United Kingdom will host the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 on behalf of Ukraine.
The decision was made after the show’s organisers came to the agreement that the competition could not be held in Ukraine, amid the ongoing Russian invasion. The competition was won by Ukrainian folk band Kalush Orchestra with their rap-hip hop entry ‘Stefania’.
The United Kingdom came second in the contest, with TikTok star Sam Ryder’s spectacular entry ‘SPACEMAN’. The energetic song saw the UK gain a whopping 466 points, and scored the highest from the jury.
Because of their win, Ukraine will automatically qualify for the final along with the ‘big five’. Other countries that qualify are the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain.
Who Will Be The Host City?
It is not yet known which city will host the competition, but Manchester and Glasgow are high on the list. Cities such as Liverpool, Newcastle, Leeds, Sheffield, London, Brighton, Aberdeen, Bristol, Wolverhampton, Belfast and Cardiff have also expressed interest.
In order to host the contest, cities must have an arena that can hold at least 10,000 spectators with a press centre. They must also have an international airport close by, and have plenty of hotels and accommodation.
The UK has hosted the competition eight times before, in London, Edinburgh, Brighton and Harrogate. The last time the country hosted was in Birmingham in 1998.
Cities that can prove they have the right facilities to host the song contest will be able to bid to host later this week.
How Will Ukraine Be Involved?
Representatives from Ukraine (UA:PBC) have said they are working with the BBC ‘to develop and implement the Ukrainian elements of next year’s shows’.
Speaking about the news, Mykola Chernotytskyi who is Head of the Managing Board of UA:PBC said: ‘the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest will not be in Ukraine but in support of Ukraine.’
‘We are grateful to our BBC partners for showing solidarity with us. I am confident that together we will be able to add Ukrainian spirit to this event and once again unite the whole of Europe around our common values of peace, support, celebrating diversity and talent’.
The logo for the 2023 Eurovision will be revealed later on. It is said to reflect the ‘unique staging’ of next years contest and the ‘cooperation between host country and this year’s winners’.