London, Europe Brief News – Seven UK cities has been set to host next year’s Eurovision Song Contest.
Birmingham, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield will vie to stage the event in May.
Twenty cities expressed an interest, and those not making the shortlist include London and Belfast.
The UK was chosen to host the contest after organisers decided it could not be staged by Ukraine, the 2022 winners.
UK singer Sam Ryder finished second at this year’s contest in Turin, Italy.
Turin’s advice to UK 2023 Eurovision host city
The decision to relocate it from Ukraine because of the ongoing war has led to a hotly-contested selection process between UK cities that want to attract thousands of visitors and the attention of around 160 million TV viewers around the world.
The seven-strong shortlist was based on the cities’ ability to show they have “the capacity, capability and experience to host an event of this scale and complexity”.
The process was “heavily weighted towards demonstrating past experience in hosting major international events, as well as being able to demonstrate their credentials in hosting a celebration of contemporary music”.
