Eurovision 2023 host city race: Leeds confirms bid to host next year's competition

Eurovision 2023 host city race: Leeds confirms bid to host next year's competition
Tuesday, 09 August 2022

  • The city of Leeds is the next one to confirm an offiicial bid to host Eurovision 2023. 

    Following the cities of  Glasgow, Newcastle, Manchester, Birmingham, London, Liverpool and Sheffield, Leeds joins the Eurovision 2023 host city bidding race. 

    Through a tweet on its official Twitter account, Leeds' City Council has confirmed they they are bidding to host the 67th Eurovision Song Contest. The news announced reads as following:

    "Excited to announce that Leeds has submitted its bid to host Eurovision 2023 for Ukraine, as part of our year of culture."

     

    Leeds as potential Eurovision 2023 host city

    First Direct Arena - Technical Advisor — Holmes Miller | Architectural  Practice

    Image: holmesmiller.com

    Leeds is a city in the county of West Yorkshire, England. The city lies in the valley of the River Aire in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. The city is the largest in the county with a population of 516,298, while the larger City of Leeds metropolitan borough had a population of 812,000 (2021 estimate).

    Potential venue: Leed is vying to host the next Eurovision at First Direct Arena. The First Direct Arena (also known as the Leeds Arena) is an entertainment-focused arena located in the Arena Quarter of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is the first in the United Kingdom to have a fan-shaped orientation.

    The arena officially opened on 4 September 2013, with Sir Elton John, playing to an audience of 12,000. Bruce Springsteen had, however, held the first concert on 24 July 2013, with an audience of 13,000. The arena's opening season in 2013 later included acts including Kaiser Chiefs, Rod Stewart, Status Quo and Depeche Mode. The building has been nominated as one of England's greatest landmarks,and won best new venue in the world in 2014

    Transportation: Leeds and the rest of the West Yorkshire Built-up Area has less extensive public transport coverage than any other UK city region of comparable size, and it is the most populated area in Europe without any form of light rail or underground system.

    Leeds Bradford International Airport is located in Yeadon, about 8 miles (13 km) to the north-west of the city centre, and has direct flights from 8 UK destinations and 70 international destinations. The airport is the tenth busiest airport outside London, with scheduled services running to London Heathrow, Amsterdam, Dublin and Barcelona. There is also a direct rail service from Leeds to Manchester Airport.

    Accommodation: Tourism is important to the Leeds economy, in 2009 Leeds was the eighth-most visited city in England by UK visitors. Thus, the city provides a wide number of hotels and apartments in order to welcome the rising numbers of visitors each year. 

    The extensive retail area of Leeds is identified as the principal regional shopping centre for the whole of the Yorkshire and the Humber region with numerous indoor markets reay to welcome those who love shopping. The city displays a variety of natural and built landmarks for sightseeing and lots of restaurants and bars. 

     

    News source:  Leeds City Council

    Cover photo: creativetourist 

     

     

     

     

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