Eurovision 2023 host city race: Edinburgh submits bid to host the competition

• The city of Edinburgh has officially submitted their bid to host the 67th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. 

  Edinburgh enters officially the Eurovision 2023 host city bidding race following the same steps of Sheffield, Leeds, Liverpool, Glasgow, Birmingham, Manchester, Newcastle, Bristol who have already submitted theri bids for Eurovision 2023. 

  Edinburgh's city council  Leader Camy Day stated to Edinburgh Live: 

  We’re very excited to have submitted our bid for Edinburgh to host Eurovision 2023.

  It is, of course, of great regret that this year’s winners Ukraine aren’t able to host the 2023 contest in their own country, but we would be honoured to step in – not least with Kyiv being our cherished sister city and Edinburgh having become home to many thousands of Ukrainians in recent months. I have no doubt we’d do them proud.

  The capital, of course, became the first city outside London to host the event in 1972 and more recently, fictionally, in the Netflix film “Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga!” .But the opportunity to host in 2023 is a once in a generation chance to welcome our friends from participating countries for the iconic song contest, showcasing the capital’s world class culture, heritage and history.

  Hosting an event on this scale is a complex undertaking but something the Capital has lots experience in and I’m sure, working with partners across the city, we’d host a show in-keeping with the Eurovision legacy. We look forward to finding out if we’ve made it through to the next stage.

   

  Edinburgh has hosted in the past the contest back in 1972, following Lodon which has hosted the previous three contests that took place in the UK. ( 1960, 1963 and 1968).

   

  EBU's requirements for hosting Eurovision 

  In order for a city to host the Eurovision SOng Contest in 2022 it must meet a specific number of  requirements. Namely the host city must have: 

  • An international airport no more than 90 minutes from the city.

  • Over 2,000 hotel rooms in the area close to the event.

  • An infrastructure (stadium/venue/centre) capable of hosting a large-scale live broadcast with the minimum requirements listed below.

  In addtion the infrastructure should:

  • Be indoors with air-conditioning and have a well defined perimeter;

  • Have an audience capacity in the main hall of around 8,000 – 10,000 during the event (which corresponds to 70% of maximum capacity of that venue for regular concerts, taking into consideration the specific stage and production needs of the Eurovision Song Contest);

  • Have a main hall with the capacity to house the set and all other requirements needed to produce a high level broadcast production (this includes good specifications of load capacity in the roof, clearance to low beams, easy load in access, etc);

  • Have ample space within easy access of the main hall to support additional production needs, such as: a press centre, delegation spaces, dressing rooms, artist facilities, staff facilities, hospitality, audience facilities, etc;

  • Be available exclusively for 6 weeks before the event, 2 weeks during the show (which will take place in May) and a week after the end of the event for dismantling.

  The BBC has announced that they will be revealing the shortlisted cities that will be continuing in the host city race on August 12 sometime during the  BBC 2 Radio’s ‘Good Morning Show’.

   

  News Source: Edinburgh Live/ ESCToday

  Image: Tripadvisor

   

   

AUTHORS

Angelos D.
Loyal follower of the Eurovision Song Contest since 1987, I've made the competition one of the stories of my life. After attending as accredited press the event for 13 consecutive years along with the 2017-2024 JESC editions, I also enjoy the last three years sharing more Eurovision music through the Eurofans radio's project.