Eurovision 2023: the shortlist of host cities will be announced tomorrow at 9:30

After days of speculation, it is now confirmed that the shortlist of candidate cities competing to host the Eurovision Song Contest will be announced on Friday, August 12 at 9:30 CET.  The contenders will be announced on  the morning show of BBC Radio 2, BBC Breakfast.

The first phase of selection has been completed

So far, ten cities have publicly announced their bid to host the 67th Eurovision Song Contest.   Tomorrow, Friday, August 12, we will officially know the cities that pass to the second and final selection phase.

BBC Radio 2 will make this announcement on their morning show “BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show”.

During the first phase, the BBC and the EBU have identified which candidates meet the requirements and have the ability to host Europe’s biggest televised event and will announce the shortlist tomorrow.

It is expected that the final decision on the host city will be decided by autumn.  According to the BBC, the UK government may be consulted.  However, the final decision will ultimately be made by the BBC and the EBU.

The following cities have confirmed that they have already submitted their proposals:

• Aberdeen
• Birmingham
• Bristol
• Glasgow
• Liverpool
• Newcastle
• Belfast
• Sheffield
• Leeds
• Darlington

Additionally, the following cities have expressed interest to submit their own proposals, but have not yet formally done so:

• Brighton
• London
• Manchester
• Nottingham
• Wolverhampton

Darlington submitted its candidacy

Darlington became the most recent city that has put its name to the candidate list to host Eurovision 2023.  According to the local authorities of the small city, they understand that they have little chances of winning the selection process. Nevertheless, Darlington wanted to submit their application to strengthen their ties with the people of Ukraine, as well as gain important experiences for the future.

Darlington has a 25,000-seat stadium , but it has no roof. Therefore, in the unlikely event that the city of 100,000 inhabitants in the North East of England ends up hosting the competition, it will have to build a roof for stadium.  A similar case happened in 2001 with the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen.

Glasgow favorite according to the betting odds

Glasgow is currently the bookies favorite to host the Eurovision Song Contest 2023.  Previously, the city of Birmingham was on top of the betting odds for a short period.  However, Glasgow which was the original favorite is back on top.  According to the betting odds Glasgow’s chance to host are getting close to 50%

Birmingham is now second  place.  Manchester, which has not yet officially announced its candidacy is in third place by a wide margin.

The Eurovision Song Contest  2023 will be held in the United Kingdom following the victory of the Kalush Orchestra with the song Stefania.  Although Ukraine won this year’s contest, the EBU decided that the next contest will take place in the United Kingdom, which ended in second place.  The EBU deemed that the ongoing war in Ukraine since the Russian invasion, made impossible for Eurovision to take place in Ukraine.  This marks the first time since 1980 that the previous winning country is unable to host the following contest.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1fl60ypdLs&ab_channel=EurovisionSongContest