
The UK host city for Eurovision 2023 has finally been announced, with Liverpool beating Glasgow in the BBC’s selection process.
Ever since it was confirmed that the UK would be hosting next year’s competition instead of Ukraine, speculation has been rife as to which city would be chosen.
After Ukraine’s Kalush Orchestra won the 2022 contest, it was decided that the nation would not be able to host due to the ongoing war with Russia.
Given the UK came second on the leaderboard with Sam Ryder’s performance of Space Man, it was therefore determined that the UK would host instead.
A shortlist of seven cities was announced in August, which were Birmingham, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield.
This shortlist was then whittled down to two, as the Scottish city of Glasgow and the English city of Liverpool went head to head.
When it was announced that the UK would be taking on hosting duties, the BBC emphasised that the 2023 event would be a ‘true reflection of Ukrainian culture’, while also ‘showcasing the diversity of British music and creativity’.
The European Broadcasting Union also released a statement to announce the news at the time, stating: ‘The BBC has taken on hosting duties for other winning countries on four previous occasions.
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‘Continuing in this tradition of solidarity, we know that next year’s Contest will showcase the creativity and skill of one of Europe’s most experienced public broadcasters whilst ensuring this year’s winners, Ukraine, are celebrated and represented throughout the event.’
Mykola Chernotytskyi, Head of the Managing Board of Ukrainian broadcaster UA:PBC, also added: ‘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.’