Eurovision 2023 hosting: Birmingham confirms bid to host the contest

Thursday, 28 July 2022

Birmingham joins the cities that have officially confirmed to bid to host the 67th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest.

Birmingham is the latest city to confirm their bid to host the next competition set to take place next year in the United Kingdom. The city's councillor Ian Ward and West Midlands Mayor Andy Street have confirmed to ITV that the city will be bidding to host Eurovision 2023 at the World Resorts Arena.

Ian Ward stated the following:

For many decades Birmingham has developed a deserved reputation as a city that hosts world-class events and we know that our city is hugely popular with athletes, performers and spectators.

We’ve hosted G8 summits, World Cup Rugby, two editions of the World Indoor Athletics Championships, a Papal visit, the Eurovision Song Contest, international football fixtures, and now the Commonwealth Games – a huge multi-sport event, delivered in half the usual time.

Andy Street mentions:

Resorts World Arena has a strong track record in hosting major televised events and awards…The venue was proud to host the ‘Concert for Ukraine’ live on ITV, bringing together some of the world’s biggest artists to help raise a staggering £13.4 million for the Disasters Emergency Committee.

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.
Birmingham as a potential Eurovision 2023 host city

Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands region of England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom,with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West Midlands metropolitan county and approximately 4.3 million in the wider metropolitan area.

Potential venue: Utilita Arena and the Resorts World Arena are the two potential venues for Eurovision 2023. While they both can house a total of 16.000 people Utilita Arena has aleady hosted the contest in the past back in 1998 known then as the National Indoor Arena.

Transportation: Birmingham Airport, located 6 miles (9.7 km) east of the city centre in the neighbouring borough of Solihull, is the seventh busiest airport by passenger traffic in the UK and the third busiest outside the London area.

Accommodation: Finind a place to stay in the city is not a problem as the location us used to accepting big numbers of visitors in other occasions as sports events and music festivals.

News Source: ESCToday/ITV

Cover photo: Culturetrip

Image: image: chetwoods.com

Eurovision 2023 hosting: Birmingham confirms bid to host the contest

AUTHORS

Angelos D.