The British Broadcasting Corporation has announced the shortlist of cities proposed to host the Eurovision Song Contest 2023.
This is reported by The Telegraph.
Seven cities are listed:
- Birmingham;
- Glasgow;
- Leeds;
- Liverpool;
- Manchester;
- Newcastle;
- Sheffield.
London and Darlington also applied to host the event, but were ultimately not shortlisted. Glasgow are favorites to win, with Birmingham in second place. The winner should be announced by autumn.
"We aim to deliver a truly unique song contest that celebrates beautiful Ukraine and champions British music and creativity in all its diversity," said the BBCʼs director of non-scripted content, Kate Phillips.
Minister of Culture Nadine Doris stated: "As Ukraine continues to defend itself against the senseless aggression of Russia, which is why it cannot hold the contest next year, we are determined to hold a contest that reflects the rich culture and creativity of Ukraine."
Despite the fact that the representatives of Ukraine Kalush Orchestra won Eurovision 2022, due to the war , next year the contest will be held in Britain, which took second place. This will be the ninth time that the Eurovision Song Contest will be held in Great Britain — more than any other country.
Ukraine will automatically enter the grand final of Eurovision together with the so-called big five countries — Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Spain, they financially support the event and automatically advance to the final.