Eurovision 2023: Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon supports Glasgow's hosting proposal

• The Scottish First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, has openly expressed her support to Glasgow's Eurovision 2023 hosting bid. 

  Following EBU's decision which cleared out that Ukraine will not host next year's Eurovision Song Contest and is going into talks with BBC for a the next edition, several cities are queing up in expressing their willingness to host the competition. 

  Among of those cities is Glasgow, with the Scottish First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon,  openly expressing her support for the city's potential Eurovision hosting. 

  The Scottish politician stated through her twitter account: 

  "We wish Eurovision could be in Ukraine but understand that in circumstances this isn’t possible. However, I can think of a perfect venue on banks of the River Clyde!!
   
  The Scottish government is happy to discuss with the BBC,  Glasgow City, EBU and others."
   
   
  Glasgow as a potential Eurovision 2023 host city
  
   
  Glasgow is going to be one of the strong contenders in the Eurovision 2023 host bidding race and has strong basis to claim next year's contest. 
   
  The potential venue: Glasgow is vying to host the next contest at the Ovo Hydro, which was was used for exterior shots of the venue for the fictional 2020 Eurovision Song Contest in the 2020 film Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga.

  The OVO Hydro is a multi-purpose indoor arena located within the Scottish Event Campus in Glasgow, Scotland, and is the largest entertainment venue in Scotland.The arena was initially named The Hydro after its main sponsor Scottish Hydro Electric.The arena was known as The SSE Hydro until October 2021, when it was announced that the name was to change to "OVO Hydro", after its new sponsor OVO Energy, with a focus on making the venue more sustainable.The arena was officially opened on 30 September 2013, with a concert by Rod Stewart. 

  The OVO Hydro arena is located adjacent to the SEC Centre and the SEC Armadillo and hosts international musical stars, global entertainment and sporting events; with a maximum capacity of 14,300 spectators,

  Transportation: Glasgow has a large urban transport system that makes moving fro one side of the city to the other very easy while the city has three international airports within 45 minutes travel of the city centre, as well as a centrally located seaplane terminal. Two are dedicated to Glasgow while the third is Edinburgh International which, as it is situated on the west side of Edinburgh, is relatively close to Glasgow. These airports are Glasgow Airport (GLA) (eight mi or thirteen km west of the city centre) in Renfrewshire, Glasgow Prestwick Airport (PIK) (30 mi or 50 km southwest) in Ayrshire, Edinburgh Airport (EDI), (34 mi or 55 km east) in Edinburgh.
  

  Accommodation: The Scottish capital has a major number of hotels and apartments that can live up to the contests requirements. 

  The city has many amenities for a wide range of cultural activities, from curling to opera and ballet and from football to art appreciation; it also has a large selection of museums that include those devoted to transport, religion, and modern art. Many of the city's cultural sites were celebrated in 1990 when Glasgow was designated European Capital of Culture. In addition it's nightlife is satisfying with plenty of restaurants and bars there to server all kind of visitors' options. 

   

  News Source: Nicola Sturgeon Twitter

  Cover photo: Hydro/ glasowlive.co.uk

  Image: inhabitat.com

   
   
   

   

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.