Eurovision Song Contest: Liverpool Picked As 2023 Host City

Liverpool has been selected as host city for the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest, the wildly popular music competition that will be entering its 67th year. The city of the Beatles won out Friday over Glasgow, the fellow finalist from a shortlist of UK cities that included Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield.

The news comes after the UK over the summer was awarded to host Eurovision, an honor traditionally given to the winning country the previous year. Ukraine won that right this year with Kalush Orchestra taking the title, but the country was forced to bow out because of its ongoing war with Russia.

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The UK finished second with Sam Ryder’s Space Man, giving it second position to become host.

The 2023 contest will hold semifinals on May 9 and May 11 at Liverpool’s M&S Bank Arena, with the grand final Saturday, May 13.

“Liverpool is the ideal place to host the 67th Eurovision Song Contest on behalf of Ukraine,” Eurovision executive supervisor Martin Österdahl said today. “The city is synonymous with music and Liverpool Arena exceeds all the requirements needed to stage a global event of this scale. We have been very impressed with the passion the city has shown in embracing the Contest and their inclusive ideas for placing last year’s winners, Ukraine, front and centre when thousands of fans visit next May.”

The 2023 Eurovision contest will be the ninth to be hosted in the UK, which hasn’t hosted for 25 years. The BBC will be the host broadcaster.