The cost of staging the Eurovision Song Contest for Liverpool Council has been confirmed.
In May 2023, representatives from 37 countries across Europe will descend on the city to compete for the biggest musical prize on the continent. In October, Liverpool was selected to host the competition in place of Ukraine, seeing off a bid from Glasgow in the final two.
Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to attend the nine shows that will take place in the M&S Bank Arena next May. Now, it has been confirmed how much the city will spend bringing the musical extravaganza to the dock.
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A total of £2m is to be used from the council purse, which is to be match funded by the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority. Further funding is to be provided for the staging of Eurovision by external sources, such as the BBC, European Broadcasting Union and government.
This is thought to be in the region of around £10m. The figure of £2m is capped for the council and 70% will be from earmarked reserves for covid-19 sector recovery as well as contributions from the city’s culture budget.
A total of £250,000 will be allocated this year, with a further £450,000 identified from next year’s pot. Cllr Harry Doyle, assistant mayor and cabinet member for culture and visitor economy, said: “Not only does Eurovision provide best value for our city, it provides a renewed sense of hope and optimism in the future direction of it too, all while flying the flag for our Ukrainian friends in their time of need.”
The figure of £2m is significantly lower than the reported £48m spent by Baku when Azerbaijan hosted the contest a decade ago. Last month, contract details revealed when and where the public will be able to visit during the festivities.
Liverpool Council went out to tender for a stewarding and security firm to oversee the fan site it will manage at the Pier Head from May 5-13 next year. The semi finals are scheduled to take place on May 9 and 11 before the grand final on Saturday 13th.
Details included with the £85,000, five month contract said the city “ received praise for its world-class facilities including the M&S Bank Arena and ACC Liverpool, the innovation behind its cultural programme, the plans to celebrate Ukrainian people and community and the ‘walkability’ of the city. Culture Liverpool has also released a number of roles it is recruiting for ahead of the song contest, while Cllr Doyle said in a written update to councillors that he was backing the city to deliver a fantastic show.
He said: “Unlike other large scale events, there hasn’t been much time to plan and prepare for Eurovision given the nature of the annual competition, but we’re confident we will deliver a special and unforgettable Eurovision.”
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