Liverpool has officially submitted its bid to host the Eurovision Song Contest in 2023.
The city has entered the first phase of the bidding process for the contest. Liverpool will be hoping to make the shortlist of potential host cities for next year's showpiece event.
The shortlist will be announced on BBC Radio 2 on Friday by the European Broadcasting Union. The UK will be hosting the 2023 contest after it came second in this year's contest. Ukraine won the competition but it was decided that the country would not be able to host the major event next year because of the ongoing Russian invasion.
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Speaking about Liverpool's bid, Liverpool Council's assistant mayor and cabinet member for culture and visitor economy, Cllr Harry Doyle said: "We are excited to have submitted a bid for Liverpool to host Eurovision 2023.
“Making a major event like this possible in such a short timeframe is complicated and is going to need some careful and creative planning, but we think Liverpool would be the perfect stage to celebrate this unique Eurovision. We look forward to finding out if we have been successful in getting through to the next stage of the process.”
As well as Liverpool, other cities hoping to host next year's song contest include Leeds, Birmingham, Aberdeen, Brighton, Bristol and Belfast.
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