The Eurovision 2023 song contest will be hosted in Liverpool.
The announcement was made by Graham Norton on BBC’s The One Show on Friday evening (7 October).
Following the July announcement that the contest would be held in the UK, a shortlist of cities in contention to host the event was revealed. Those cities included Birmingham, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield.
After an additional round of screening, the list was narrowed to just Glasgow and Liverpool. Eurovision was last hosted in the UK in 1998.
“We’ll give it a party,” the Lord Mayor of Liverpool Roy Gladden said during the live announcement. “And we’ll make Ukraine proud.”
Kalush Orchestra won the Eurovision 2022 contest for Ukraine in May after receiving overwhelming support in the public vote. The UK’s entry, Sam Ryder, came in second place.
Shortly after Kalush’s victory, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said in a Facebook post: “Our courage impresses the world, our music conquers Europe! Next year Ukraine will host Eurovision! For the third time in its history. And I believe – not for the last time.”
Since then, though, Eurovision’s governing board the Reference Group determined that “given the current circumstances, the security and operational guarantees required for a broadcaster to host, organise and produce the Eurovision Song Contest under the ESC Rules cannot be fulfilled”.
In a statement, the Kalush Orchestra reflected on the choice of Liverpool to host. “Though we haven’t had the privilege of visiting yet, the musical heritage of the city is known all over the world. Playing in the same place that The Beatles started out will be a moment we’ll never forget! Although we are sad that next year’s competition cannot take place in our homeland, we know that the people of Liverpool will be warm hosts and the organisers will be able to add a real Ukrainian flavour to Eurovision 2023 in this city.”
Key dates for Eurovision 2023 were also announced. The Grand Final will take place on Saturday 13 May with Semi-Finals on Tuesday 9 and Thursday 11 May.
Information on how to purchase tickets is yet to be released.
