Bristol could be one step closer to hosting Eurovision 2023, as Cardiff withdraws from the race – although the city still ranks low in the bookmakers’ estimations. The Welsh capital announced the scrapping of its plans to host the international music contest, which has been relocated from 2022 winner Ukraine due to the ongoing war there, earlier this week.
Too many other events at the Principality Stadium would have to have been rearranged, its bidders decided, declaring their pull-out on Wednesday. Rumours of a Cardiff bid also caused upset online , with commenters saying that the city’s infrastructure could not cope, reported Wales Online. Eurovision would have seen Cardiff receive tens of thousands of extra visitors, worrying some locals that two weeks of endless gridlock would be the result.
Bristol has been ranked as low as 16th most likely to host, behind cities like Brighton who have already ruled themselves out. But the withdrawal of the Welsh capital pushes it one place higher – but could the combined transport links of Cardiff and Bristol mean there's more chance of Eurovision coming here?
Where do you think Eurovision 2023 should be held? Let us know what you think, Blackpool is currently topping the poll but could Bristol do better?
Bristol airport has routes to more than 130 destinations worldwide , including 14 cities in France and 13 in Spain. And with Cardiff out of the running, arrivals from more than 70 destinations its airport serves would have journey of under one hour to get to Bristol.
The fact that trains here from Cardiff leave every half an hour makes it even more convenient for Eurovision fans flying into that city to reach a Bristol-based contest.
There are plenty of bus routes in and out, too – First Bus operates over 100 services in Bristol, Bath and the West, meaning those coming here to catch the contest would have plenty of accommodation options within easy reach.
And with a trip from Bristol to Bath taking just 13 minutes and departing every 20 minutes, it could scarcely be easier for tourists to explore the region’s rich heritage (not to mention the beautiful surroundings of the Mendip Hills, the Cotswolds and Cranborne Chase AONB).
The BBC, as official Eurovision broadcaster in Britain, will decide which UK city gets to host the competition. Candidates must have an international airport and be able to provide a press centre for 1,500 journalists, plus hotels for at least 2,000 people.
Bristol has all of these – as well as the aforementioned transport links between them – but it fails in the requirement of a venue which can host 10,000 spectators.
That is unless the YTL Arena, scheduled for completion at the Brabazon Hangar on the former Filton Airfield, can be finished a year ahead of schedule, as Mayor of Bristol Marvin Rees has suggested.
But developers YTL have tweeted their support for the idea, meaning the biggest and most important song contest in Europe could soon be taking place on the very site which launched the Franco-British Concorde project almost half a century ago.
The home of that international effort would seem a fitting venue for Britain to act as caretaker host for Ukraine’s Eurovision – but with Bristol given odds of just 26 to 1, you may not want to put much money on it.
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