And while we are mere days away from the announcement of the Eurovision 2023 host city, the first details about the proposed scheduled events came to light. In particular, Liverpoolecho reveals exclusive details of how Liverpool intends to organise the Competition, should it be selected.
We are at the final homestretch of the selection process for the city that is going to host Eurovision Song Contest 2023. Despite announcing yesterday that only Glasgow and Liverpool remain at the course of claiming, it seems that for the bookmakers there is an absolute favourite!
According to the bookmakers, Glasgow has 64% chance to host the contest, while Liverpool concentrates the remaining 36%.
It should also be pointed out that the variability of the odds was recorded mostly the last days, before BBC’s announcement regarding the predominant cities.
Specifically, as shown at the panel above (screenshot that was taken yesterday), while Glasgow remained for long as the absolute favourite for the bookmakers, Liverpool managed to make an outstading leap in odds. However, this dynamic was not preserved after the BBC announcement, with Glasgow retaking it’s edge overnight.
Will the bookmakers be proven right or Liverpool is going to make a surprise? Stay tuned at Eurovisionfun for all the details!
We have already reported that the decision about the Host City Eurovision 2023 will be announced in the Fall. What we didn’t know is how lengthy and elaborative BBC’s process really is. A recent discussion, however, between Liverpool Echo and Cllr Harry Doyle (a Liverpool city official) has shed some light into the procedure and give us a full picture of the BBC’s roadmap.
According to Liverpool Echo, the seven shortlisted cities must now provide BBC with their complete bids until September the 8th.
After an initial examination of the submitted bids, BBC will pay a visit to all the aspirant host cities (during September), in order to inspect the arenas and cities’ infrastructure.
Following the local inspection, BBC will once again deliberate, together with EBU, having this time all the necessary information to make the best choice. As a Liverpool city official maintains the final decision concerning the Eurovision 2023 Host City will be made public in late September or early October.
Stay tuned for all the updates regarding Eurovision 2023 and the Host City bid race!
Following the BBC’s announcement of the shortlist of cities on 12th August, one aspirant organising city has become bookies’ absolute favourite to host ESC. Glasgow, albeit being ahead of competition from the very beginning, has now managed to crystallise its position, according to the betting odds, securing an overwhelming 52% chance of holding the event!
Interestingly, Glasgow has more than doubled its chances to host ESC since August the 11th, a day before the official announcement of the shortlisted cities. Birmingham and Manchester are the bookies’ second and third favourite, with 17% and 11% chance of hosting ESC respectively, having no considerable fluctuations in the betting odds over the last three weeks.
However, the Host City bid race is far from over. The seven shortlisted cities have now entered the first stage of the two stage bidding process. In the second stage, the cities will be narrowed down to two, and one will prevail and take over hosting duties from Turin, ESC 2022 Host City.
Have the bookies correctly predicted the Eurovision 2023 Host City? Which other city could possibly intercept Glasgow’s victorious course?
It was announced today that Cardiff will not proceed with its host city application for Eurovision 2023, due to the unavailability of the Principality Stadium (proposed venue) during the Eurovision period.
That is despite the fact that the Cardiff Council, the Welsh Government and the Principality Stadium had initially expressed a great interest in hosting the show in May 2023.
The above actors clarified, in their joint statement, that hosting Eurovision would have caused cancellations of a great number of significant scheduled events.
Here is the joint statement by the Principality Stadium, the Cardiff City Council, and Welsh Government’s officials:
“Since it was confirmed that the UK would host the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest, Cardiff Council, the Welsh Government and Principality Stadium have been working at pace to establish the feasibility of a bid to host the event in Wales’ capital city.”
“Cardiff’s very strong track record in hosting major events, and the world-class Principality Stadium, would have made it a natural fit for such a significant production.”
“The BBC, as the event organisers, have released detailed specifications for each city wishing to bid to host the event. As partners, we have been working through these in detail. It is clear that on many of these Cardiff would have a very strong case to become the host city for Eurovision 2023.”
“However, the complexity of staging the event means that a significant number of scheduled events in the Principality Stadium during Spring 2023 would have to be cancelled as a result. These include the European Wheelchair Rugby Championships, ‘The Road to Principality’, a key event in the WRU Community rugby calendar, and a major international artist contracted to appear, among other events.”
This development, albeit not a cause of celebration for Welsh eurofans, might strengthen some other cities’ bid. Taking Wales out of the game, leaves plenty of room for Scotland’s cities to manoeuvre, with Glasgow of course leading the race in the betting odds so far.
Which is the most suitable host city for Eurovision 2023? Should the ESC take place in England, Scotland or Northern Ireland?
Political upheaval emerges in the United Kingdom after the resignation of the Prime Minister of United Kingdom, Boris Johnson, from the leadership of the ruling Conservative Party. The latter, succumbing to the pressures caused by the resignations of leading government officials in the previous days, declared that despite his resignation from the leadership of the party, he will remain in the prime minister’s position, until the upcoming elections within the Conservative Party.
Could this new development affect the host city bid race for the 67th Eurovision Song Contest? Could it also possibly affect the UK and Ukraine cooperation in co-hosting the Competition?
The history of a predetermined course
As it was previously reported, according to an announcement issued by the EBU, the latter is in negotiations with the BBC, so that the Competition can be (co)organised (jointly with Ukraine) within the UK. Despite the disapproval that have been officially expressed by the Ukrainian Minister of Culture, the decision appears to be final, with the debate now turning to the choice of the city, within the UK, which will host the event.
As we noted in our previous article, so far at least 15 cities have expressed their interest in hosting the Competition (in alphabetical order):
A lot of digital ink has been spilled in relation to which of them is the most suitable to undertake this great challenge, always in view of the requirements established (!) by the EBU, which include inter alia:
The video below, in which Jon Ola Sand, Executive Supervisor of ESC until 2020, breaks down the process and the factors that are considered in the host city bid.
Glasgow as the preferred choice
Out of the cities that have expressed interest, several of them meet the aforementioned criteria, with the participation of Glasgow, however, being rumoured, as the prevalent choice. Glasgow, the most populous city in Scotland and the third most populous in the entire United Kingdom, seems like an ideal choice. The 14,300-capacity OVO Hydro Arena (which the Scottish First Minister seems to suggest as the best choice in her tweet) is in a great location, being just an eight-minute walk from BBC Scotland (the BBC’s Scottish branch). In addition, a conference center is located just near the OVO Hydro Arena, which could be utilised as a press center. More information on the scenario of Glasgow’s selection as a host city can be found here.
Right to Left: the OVO Hydro Arena, and the SEC Armadillo (auditorium). A third venue known as SEC Centre (not shown on the picture), together with OVO Hydro Arena and SEC Armadillo make up the Scottish Event Campus.
The resounding message of the Welsh Parliament
In a recent development, beyond Scotland, Wales (with Cardiff being the leading candidate host city), appears to also be a strong competitor. Specifically, on July 29, the Plenary Session of the Welsh Assembly (Senedd), after expressing its regret for Ukraine’s inability to organise the Competition, officially called on the Welsh Government to take the matter of the organisation of ESC on Welsh soil more seriously, and to engage EBU and BBC in discussions towards this direction.
During the session, the minutes of which can be found here, it was pointed out that Wales has never hosted the Contest, and the possibility of Eurovision being held in Wales would bring a large amount of tourism to boost the country’s economy. Surprisingly, another matter that was raised during the session, is the Conservative party’s 2021 call for Wales to participate in the contest separate from the UK, which cannot happen as long as the BBC holds broadcasting rights or Wales remains as part of the UK.
Although the prospect of hosting the ESC at the 74,500-seat Cardiff Principality Venue sounds extremely interesting, as this would result in the largest on-site audience to date, significant concerns have also been expressed as to whether Cardiff (or any other city in the Wales) could meet the conditions set by the EBU, and more specifically whether it could accommodate such a number of visitors, given the insufficient availability of accommodation within the city.
Political factors that will potentially influence the choice
It can be assumed that the 67th ESC will not be hosted on English soil, and the political instability that has emerged in the country, in light of the resignation of Boris Johnson, plays a certain role in this outcome (although impossible to assess the exact degree). Despite the fact that the resignation of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom inevitably affects all the constituent countries of the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland), the local governments in the latter three tend de facto to significantly facilitate the absorption of any political shocks caused therein.
Furthermore, with Northern Ireland currently being a hot potato for United Kingdom, the Scottish and Welsh bids seem to be the most likely host cities. Of course, one should not fail to take into account another factor, which rather tilts the tide towards Glasgow’s bid, namely the pro-European approach adopted by the Scottish Government in recent years. The latter’s outlook, coupled with its repeated attempts to differentiate itself from the government of Boris Johnson, especially in everything that has to do with Brexit and the relevant agreement signed between the European Union and the United Kingdom, has led Scotland to be portrayed in very good light within Europe.
UK-Ukraine relationship with a view to a joint event
A final parameter worth talking about is the close relationship between the United Kingdom and Ukraine. Admittedly, UK is one of the most important allies of Ukraine today, with Boris Johnson having, in fact, expressed a few weeks ago his opinion that EBU should reconsider organising the Competition in Ukraine, despite EBU’s relevant decision. Obviously, such a thing is not possible given the current circumstances.
What seems to be the most plausible scenario, according to a Downing Street representative, is for the ESC to be held in UK, in an event which will highlight the rich culture, tradition and creativity of Ukraine and in which, at the same time, emphasis will be given to the strong ties between the two countries.
It therefore follows that some degree of co-operation between Ukrainian and UK broadcasters will be required. In this context, Boris Johnson’s approach would certainly have ensured the two broadcasters’ harmonious cooperation (in the run-up to the event). Besides, in a poll conducted in Ukraine, Boris Johnson was found to be by far the most popular among foreign leaders, being only three percentage points below the Prime Minister of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky. Nevertheless, and despite the removal of the Ukrainians’ second favourite out of the picture, it doesn’t look like the parties will have to go back to the drawing board.
And this is because the change in the leadership of the Conservatives, with the consequent change in prime ministership, does not seem to affect the relations between the United Kingdom and Ukraine, nor the support of the former for the latter. As a recent poll has shown, the pro-Ukraine mandate is not a peculiar characteristic of Boris Johnson, but a commonplace in UK politics, spanning throughout the full spectrum of the British politics.
