The Principality Stadium in Cardiff has publicly expressed its interest in being the venue for the Eurovision Song Contest 2023.
The Principality Stadium in Cardiff is the first potential venue in the United Kingdom, to publicly state it is interested in holding the Eurovision Song Contest in 2023. With a capacity of 70,000 the stadium, the venue which opened in 1999 would be the largest venue to hold the Eurovision Song Contest should it be chosen.
Speaking to the BBC a spokesperson for the Principality Stadium said:
“We would relish the opportunity to host the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 here at Principality Stadium, Cardiff. We have a 20-year history of successfully hosting the biggest music artists and sporting events in the world, and to add Eurovision, the world’s biggest and much-loved music competition to the list, would be the cherry on top of the last two decades.”
They went on to add that:
“We are a nation of singers, the land of song, and there’s no better sound than a packed Principality Stadium…Given our history and experience as a multi-event arena, we’re confident we could deliver an outstanding event, and, if the UK is a consideration for 2023, we would welcome the opportunity to discuss this in detail.”
Cardiff is the eleventh largest city in the United Kingdom with just under 370,000 people calling it home. Located on the Bristol Channel the city is the capital of Wales and is home to the Senedd as well as being the country’s main business hub. Cardiff is connected to the globe via Cardiff Airport with connections to Amsterdam, Dublin, Paris and Spain.
Should the United Kingdom agree to host the 2023 contest, it would be the sixth occasion on which the country has hosted after the original host nation was unable to, following for the Netherlands in 1960, France in 1963, Monaco in 1972, Luxembourg in 1974 and Israeli in 1980. It would also extend the United Kingdom’s record of hosting the contest to nine times.
To date, the following cities have expressed interest in hosting the 2023 contest:
- Aberdeen
- Belfast
- Birmingham
- Brighton
- Cardiff
- Glasgow
- Leeds
- Liverpool
- London
- Manchester
- Sheffield
- Sunderland
- Wolverhampton
Kalush Orchestra won the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 with the song “Stefania”. It was Ukraine’s third victory in the contest’s history.
Image Source: Clint Budd / Wikimedia | Source: BBC
Israel could not host the Eurovision too in 1980.