With the UK officially confirmed as the host country for the next Eurovision Song Contest, talk has already turned to which city could hold the competition. The BBC announced that they will broadcast next year's contest on behalf of the 2022 competition's winners, Ukraine, after they were forced to withdraw earlier this year.
Revealing the news earlier today (July 25) Eurovision explained that the host city for the 2023 song contest will be decided in the coming months. The bidding process will be launched this week, with many of the UK's biggest cities expected to apply.
As it currently stands, London and Manchester are the frontrunners to host the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest, with Birmingham following close behind. There's still hope for Yorkshire though, as Leeds and Sheffield are tied with Newcastle, Liverpool and Leeds with odds of 10/1 to win Eurovision hosting duties.
In order to be chosen to hold the competition, cities must demonstrate that they have a 10,000-seater venue and are located within close proximity to an international airport. Prospective host cities must also have enough hotel rooms to house 2,000 delegates.
Several mayors, councillors and MPs have already reportedly informally expressed an intention to bid, including representatives from: Aberdeen, Belfast, Birmingham, Brighton, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Newcastle, Nottingham, Sheffield, Swindon and Wolverhampton. However, according to Eurovision, "Of course, not all of these locations will formally apply, and the BBC and the EBU will await official approaches and applications from this week onwards."
The formal application process will get underway this week, with a long list of cities expected to be published "later in the Summer". The winning city will then be announced by the end of the year, as preparations begin for the 2023 song contest in May.
As for who could host, Graham Norton is the firm favourite to front the live ceremony. Other contenders so far include Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield and Davina McCall.
Betfair spokesperson Sam Rosbottom said: “With the European Broadcasting Union confirming the UK will host next year’s Eurovision, Graham Norton is the 3/1 favourite to anchor the song contest and he is followed by Holly Willoughby & Phillip Schofield at 9/2, while Bonnie Tyler, who represented the UK at Eurovision in 2013, is 8/1. Looking at which city could host Eurovision, London is the 7/4 frontrunner, with Manchester 7/2 and Birmingham 5/1.”
Here's the full list of odds for which city could play host Eurovision 2023, as well as who is tipped to present the ceremony:
Betfair: City to host Eurovision 2023
- London: 7/4
- Manchester: 7/2
- Birmingham: 5/1
- Sheffield, Liverpool, Newcastle, Leeds: 10/1
- Edinburgh: 14/1
- Cardiff: 16/1
- Glasgow: 20/1
- Belfast, Bristol: 25/1
Betfair: Person to host Eurovision 2023
- Graham Norton: 3/1
- Holly Willoughby & Phillip Schofield: 9/2
- Bonnie Tyler: 8/1
- Davina McCall: 10/1
- Dermot O’Leary, Lulu: 16/1
- Maya Jama: 33/1
- Rylan Clark: 40/1
- Alan Carr: 50/1
- James Corden: 66/1
- Laura Whitmore: 80/1
- Alison Hammond, Jonathan Ross, Jack Whitehall: 150/1
- Simon Cowell: 200/1
- Piers Morgan: 250/1
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