London, Europe Brief News- The Eurovision Song Contest will take place in the UK next year.
The show’s organisers decided the event could not be held in the winning country, Ukraine, due to the ongoing war following Russia’s invasion.
“We are grateful to our BBC partners for showing solidarity with us,” said Mykola Chernotytskyi, head of Ukraine’s public broadcaster, UA:PBC.
It’s not yet known which city will host, but cities including Glasgow and Manchester have expressed an interest.
The UK has a number of places with suitable arenas, accommodation and international transport links.
Leeds, Liverpool, Newcastle, Birmingham, Aberdeen, London, Brighton, Bristol, Belfast and Cardiff could also be in the running among others.
Cities will have to prove they have the right facilities and go through a bidding process, which will begin this week.
The BBC and the EBU will now wait for official approaches and will publish the longlist later this summer.
Ukraine will automatically qualify for the Grand Final, as is usual for the winner, along with the so-called Big Five, which incudes the UK.
UA: PBC will work with the BBC to develop Ukrainian elements of the show.
Mr Chernotytskyi added that although the contest will not be held there, it will be “in support of Ukraine”.
“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.”
