Excitement is building about Cardiff's chances of hosting Eurovision 2023 after the announcement that the song contest would be held in the United Kingdom next year. But plenty of people think it shouldn't bother and for one big reason.
Ukraine won this year's competition, with the UK finishing in second place, and tradition follows that the winner hosts the following year's show. But it has been concluded that this cannot be done safely whilst the country is at war with Russia, meaning the event will head to the UK instead.
The BBC has accepted an invitation to host the 67th Eurovision Song Contest on behalf of the Ukrainian broadcaster, UA: PBC creating "a ceremony that reflects Ukraine’s victory in Turin in May, 2022, as well as showcasing the UK’s vibrant music scene." But how will the host city be decided? A bidding process will take place to be completed by the autumn, and early signs show that the Welsh Government will be looking at trying its hand. You can get more news like this and other story updates straight to your inbox by subscribing to our newsletters here.
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A spokesman confirmed, however, that a bid would take a lot of work, stating: "We remain open to discussions around bringing exciting major events to Wales. As ever, any discussion would involve full engagement with partners, assessment of likely costs and benefits and consideration of a detailed technical specification."
It has led to plenty of speculation and excitement among fans of the contest here in Wales, but many have been quick to pour cold water over the suitability of Cardiff as a host for such a major event. Discussing the news on WalesOnline's Facebook page, many have shared their thoughts, including Kirsty Richards, who wrote: "Cardiff couldn’t cope with this level of event. Ed Sheeran completely blocked the M4 when he came. As much as I would love to see Cardiff host this it just can’t cope I’m afraid."
Liane Elms wrote: "Never going to happen. That's been proven time and time again. Not enough hotels, poor infrastructure and useless transport links." And Sue Lawford wrote: "No thank you. No-one who lives in or near Cardiff wants this. Ask residents - recent big events have caused absolute chaos."
Sophie Marie wrote: "Cardiff just won’t cope with the amount of visitors, it’s crazy enough on match days never mind having the crowds Eurovision will bring." Dorian Davies agreed, adding: "As much as I would love to see us having something like this, let's be realistic, the city grinds to a halt during graduation ceremonies, what happens when a big chunk of Europe all turn up?"
Amanda Leyshon wrote: "Ideally it would be great but realistically it’s not the place. Even the Ed Sheeran gig caused chaos. And when the Coca Cola Christmas truck parked at Asda, I was stuck in traffic for an extra hour."
Continuing in the same tone, Mark White wrote: "With our traffic problems with the tunnels and slow speed limits and the infrequently running trains finishing at 10pm and cycle lanes, plus 20,mph zones, this would be a nightmare in Cardiff."
And Hilary Brown added: "It would be good - but Cardiff can not cope with traffic. The M4 will have traffic chaos backed up further than Bristol. The high speed motorway of 50mph (if you're lucky to reach that speed) is a joke. Cardiff International Airport doesn’t have great rail links or road infrastructure. We already know this, and Eurovision is usually about two weeks. So traffic chaos for that amount of time would be unacceptable. It would be a shame not to have it in Cardiff as I absolutely love Eurovision."
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