Glasgow misses out to host Eurovision Song Contest 2023 as Liverpool chosen as UK host city

Glasgow was one of 20 UK locations that expressed an interest in hosting Eurovision 2023 and had been a bookies’ favourite from the off.
Sophie Wills
By Sophie Wills
Published 7th Oct 2022, 19:22 BST
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Glasgow hasn’t been chosen to host the Eurovision Song Contest in May 2023.

The announcement came on BBC One’s The One Show on Friday, October 7, with the city losing to Liverpool.

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Glasgow was one of 20 UK locations that initially expressed an interest in hosting the spectacular music show, and was a bookies’ favourite from the off.

The city’s OVO Hydro venue has a capacity of 14,300, which fitted the requirements needed to host. In 1969 proud Glaswegian Lulu won the contest with her smash hit ‘Boom Bang-a-Bang’.

The Hydro’s exterior was also filmed as part of Will Ferrell’s 2020 Netflix film Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of the Fire Saga.

Singer Sam Ryder performs on behalf of The United Kingdom during the final of the Eurovision Song contest 2022 on May 14, 2022 at the Pala Alpitour venue in Turin. (Photo by Marco BERTORELLO / AFP) (Photo by MARCO BERTORELLO/AFP via Getty Images)Singer Sam Ryder performs on behalf of The United Kingdom during the final of the Eurovision Song contest 2022 on May 14, 2022 at the Pala Alpitour venue in Turin. (Photo by Marco BERTORELLO / AFP) (Photo by MARCO BERTORELLO/AFP via Getty Images)
Singer Sam Ryder performs on behalf of The United Kingdom during the final of the Eurovision Song contest 2022 on May 14, 2022 at the Pala Alpitour venue in Turin. (Photo by Marco BERTORELLO / AFP) (Photo by MARCO BERTORELLO/AFP via Getty Images)

The leader of Glasgow City Council, Susan Aitken, said previously that the city had ‘everything it takes’ to host Eurovision.

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She said: “The competition has been very strong, but Glasgow has an unrivalled track record for successfully hosting major global events.”

The last UK city to host the Eurovision Song Contest was Birmingham in 1998.

Related topics:GlasgowBBC OneLiverpool

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