Eurovision 2023: Edinburgh snubbed as Glasgow, Birmingham, Newcastle, Leeds, Liverpool shortlisted

The shortlist to host next year’s Eurovision Song Contest has been announced – but sadly, Edinburgh has missed out.

Birmingham, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield all made the shortlist of potential host cities.

Scott Mills joined Zoe Ball on the BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show to announce the news.

Ukrainian entry Kalush Orchestra triumphed at this year’s competition in Turin, Italy, but the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which produces the annual event, decided the event cannot be held in the war-torn country following Russia’s invasion.

The UK was given the chance to host Eurovision for the ninth time, more than any other country, after Sam Ryder came second in the competition.

Edinburgh, which famously hosted the competition in 1972, made a late bid to host the 2023.

Sadly, there will be no repeat of the event, 50 years ago, when Eurovision was held at the Usher Hall on Lothian Road.

The Host City selection process is a two-stage process and these seven cities will now go through to the second and final stage, where they will be asked to develop their bids in more detail. The selection of the Host City for the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 will be decided by the BBC in conjunction with the EBU, and the successful city will be announced in the Autumn.

The final decision on the winning Host City will be determined by which city or region scores highest against an agreed evaluation criteria, assessed by the BBC.

After the announcement, Mills said: “It’s huge, it’s a beast and it’s complicated as an event to put on.

“But also it’s cities who have the passion to put on a contest like this, because of time, past experience with huge international events and also being able to host a celebration of modern music.

“The next thing that happens, these cities go through to the second and final stage, they have to give a bit more detail about their plans.

“The final, final decision gets made based on what city and region scores highest against the BBC’s criteria.”

Kate Phillips, the BBC’s director of unscripted content, said: “We would like to thank all of the cities and regions that submitted bids to host next year’s Eurovision Song Contest. We have seven fantastic cities who we are taking through to the next round.

“Congratulations to Birmingham, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield – it’s exciting to see such a breadth of bids going through from across the UK.

“We are committed to delivering a truly unique Song Contest that celebrates wonderful Ukraine and champions British music and creativity in all its diversity.”

Councillor Susan Aitken, Leader of Glasgow City Council, said: “We’re delighted to progress to the next stage of the process.

“Delivering such a unique event in such a short timescale presents a challenge, but Glasgow has an unrivalled track-record for successfully hosting major global events and we’re confident we can present a Eurovision that reflects a true celebration of Ukrainian culture.

“As the UK’s first UNESCO City of Music – a title we share with Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv – Glasgow offers one of the most immersive live music experiences in the world and international visitors regularly cite our enviable music credentials as a reason for coming here.

“Add to that our OVO Hydro, which is consistently ranked in the world’s top five entertainment arenas, and our famously warm Glaswegian welcome, and we tick all the boxes for hosting a show that the Eurovision community, and the world, will long remember.”