Mayor of Bristol Marvin Rees has tonight announced that he is launching a bid to bring next year's Eurovision Song Contest to Bristol. Following the decision by organisers that 2022 winners Ukraine are no longer able to host the 2023 singing competition due to the ongoing conflict in their country, the BBC has been asked to take on the duty of hosting Eurovision next year, meaning it'll be coming to the UK.
During this evening's (July 9) Pride Day celebrations on The Downs, a video from Mayor of Bristol Marvin Rees was played to festivalgoers before headliner Carly Rae Jepsen took to the stage, announcing Bristol's bid to act as a 'caretaker' for next year's competition at the city's brand new arena. In his message, Marvin Rees said: "Hello Pride, this is Bristol calling.
"It's great that everyone is here, in person, for Bristol Pride and I'm excited to talk about another opportunity for Bristol to come together again. Despite winning the Eurovision Song Contest in May, incredibly sadly, Ukraine won't host the contest in 2023 and the BBC have been asked to take on Eurovision next year.
Read more: Eurovision Song Contest 2023: Eight reasons why Bristol should host
"As a global and diverse City of Sanctuary, Bristol can be the caretaker of next year's Eurovision Song Contest. We're working in partnership with YTL Arena Bristol on a bid to bring Eurovision to the Brabazon Hangars.
"Bristol has the perfect site where we can custom build the perfect Eurovision Song Contest. We've got the Space, Man. You'll see what I've done there.
"Bristol's ready with a really strong bid and we need you to help us bring this home. We have posted this on social media - please share it.
"Tell the world how much you want Bristol to be the next home of Eurovision using our hashtag #ThisIsBristolCalling."
Ukraine's entry for this year's Eurovision Song Contest in Turin, Italy, was the song 'Stefania' by Kalush Orchestra - it received a whopping 631 points which placed it firmly at the top of the leaderboard, mostly thanks to telephone voters at home. Despite Ukraine's entry always being the favourite to win, the big shock - especially for British fans - was the success of the UK entry.
Sam Ryder came second with his song 'Space Man', racking up multiple 'douze points' from the jury and voters at home and finishing on 466 points, the UK's best result since 1998. The winner of the previous competition traditionally goes onto host the next.
The UK has staged the contest in London four times (1960, 1963, 1968 and 1977), and once in Edinburgh (1972), Brighton (1974), Harrogate (1982) and Birmingham (1998). Glasgow, London, Manchester and Leeds have also thrown their hats in the ring to be 2023's host.
What do you think? Would you love to see Eurovision here on our doorstep for what we're sure would be a moment in history for us all? Let us know in the comments below.
Want our best stories with fewer ads and alerts when the biggest news stories drop? Download our app on iPhone or Android.
Read next:
