Belfast councillors Anthony Flynn and Seamas De Faoite have written to the chief executives of Belfast City Council and Visit Belfast calling for their city to be among those being considered to host the 67th Eurovision Song Contest.
In their letter, the Green Party and SDLP councillors say that Belfast is already well equipped to host the contest and has a successful history of hosting global events.
They write:
“We are writing to you to urge that Belfast City Council and Visit Belfast play a full part in promoting Belfast as the UK destination for hosting Eurovision 2023.
Belfast is already well equipped to host an event like Eurovision, with the appropriate venue capacity and accommodation available, as well as transport links around the city and beyond.
The Eurovision song contest is watched by millions of fans around the world and host countries often use the opportunity to promote their countryside, towns and cities beyond the host city limits, so not only would this be a huge opportunity for Belfast, but also for the whole of Northern Ireland to be shown off on the world stage.
Belfast already has a successful history of hosting large global events, such as the Giro d’Italia in 2014 or the MTV EMA awards in 2011.
We believe it is time for Belfast to take centre stage again in 2023, and we can get Douze points!”
Simon Hamilton, a former DUP Economy Minister, also spoke of Northern Ireland’s excellent record of hosting such major events.
On Twitter, he writes: “With UNESCO City of Music status recently secured and a great track record of hosting large-scale events, Belfast would be the perfect host city for #Eurovision #ESC2023.”
Image Source: Discover Northern Ireland | Source: Belfast Live, Belfast Telegraph
