Nottingham City Council has announced that it will not progress with it's bid to host the Eurovision Song Contest for 2023. City leaders had previously expressed an interest in hosting the event in the hope that it could help to put the city on the map and highlight what it has to offer.
City Council officials confirmed that it had considered what it would take to host the event. The BBC and the EBU decide the requirements and how each bid meets them - this can include financial requirements and experience in organising large events.
Last year's event saw the EBU introduce regulations that stated a venue must accommodate 10,000 viewers and must have a nearby press centre. This must also be in close proximity to an international airport and hotels. Thousands attend the show each year and ticket sales remain highly competitive.
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Councillor David Mellen, Leader of Nottingham City Council highlighted that Nottingham City Council carefully considered putting a bid forward but would not be progressing with it despite the 'world-class' arenas and infrastructure.
"It’s really exciting that Eurovision is coming to the UK and for the country to host such a long-running, well-loved and prestigious international competition on behalf of Ukraine. With a world-class Arena that hosts entertainment superstars and international sporting events, Nottingham’s infrastructure of hotels, restaurants and bars is geared toward welcoming fans from all over the world," he said.
“Together with local partners, we have carefully considered the criteria which potential host cities are required to meet ahead of submitting a formal application. Unfortunately, despite having a great venue, a vibrant and diverse community and excellent green transport links, Nottingham doesn’t meet the wider capacity requirements for an event of this scale and so, sadly, we have collectively decided not to put forward a bid on this occasion.
“With a worldwide television audience of more than 180 million people, Eurovision is a terrific opportunity for another city in the country and we’d be happy to help with their preparations if we can.”
A number of cities have already put in an official bid including London, Cardiff, Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds. The UK has been chosen to host the event after Ukraine won the 2022 competition. However, due to the Russian invasion of the country, the UK will host instead.
Sadly, it was felt that Nottingham would 'fall short' of what was needed to host the event, especially in a year where it is about more than just music. Officials have stated they would like to help the host city wherever possible and wished the BBC, EBU good luck with selecting somewhere.
The selection process is due to be completed by autumn with the host city announced around that time. Glasgow and Birmingham are both being tipped as favourites to win by bookmakers. London has hosted the most Eurovisions with the event taking place in 1960, 1963, 1968 and again in 1977.
Greg Nugent, chair at The Nottingham Project, said: “Nottingham is a hugely ambitious city that wants to be bidding for the big events and cultural relocations. Eurovision would have been perfect, especially in a year when it is about more than just the music.
“However, having reviewed the bidding criteria, my opinion is that on this occasion we would probably fall short of what is needed to stage the event next spring. We wish the BBC, European Broadcasting Union and all of Ukraine good luck in their search for the host city.”
It's not all bad news though as there are plenty of other high-profile events due to take place in the city including sporting championships and huge musical stadium performances from Jake Bugg and Rod Stewart.
Martin Ingham, Chief Executive of the Motorpoint Arena, said: “We have a world-class venue here in Nottingham which regularly welcomes the biggest names in global entertainment, as well as international sporting events.
“Hosting Eurovision would have been another fantastic feather in the city’s cap, but unfortunately we cannot meet the event criteria as the Arena already has a number of major contracted events, including the IIHF Men’s World Championships 1A. This is an extensive period where the venue would need to be made available to the BBC and European Broadcasting Union.
“Despite the disappointment of not being able to take our bid further, we look forward to an incredible line-up of events at the Arena for the rest of our busiest ever year, including the Nottingham Panthers in the Elite Ice Hockey League, England Netball, and concerts from the likes of Sean Paul, George Ezra, Bob Dylan, Rod Stewart, Jake Bugg and Florence And The Machine."
