Aberdeen City Council has approved funding for the creation of a bid to host the Eurovision Song Contest 2023.
Aberdeen Councillors have approved funding of £30,000 for the creation of a bid to host the Eurovision Song Contest 2023. The motion in the council was put forward by Conservative group leader Ryan Houghton. Mr Houghton told The Press and Journal:
“I’m glad that council agreed to support a Eurovision bid which would be an incredible event for Aberdeen to host. The economic benefit would be significant and it’s imperative now that all our politicians get behind the city.”
The city council believes that Aberdeen has a better chance of hosting than many may first think, having previously worked with the BBC on high-profile television events including the 2019 Sports Personality of the Year which was held at the P&J Live.
Aberdeen is home to the P&J Live complex which can accommodate up to 15,000 people, making it the fifth-largest indoor arena in the United Kingdom. Aberdeen is the third-largest city in Scotland is home to just under 200,000 people. Known as the “Granite City”, the city is connected to the rest of the world by Aberdeen International Airport which serves destinations from Norway to 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: P&J Live | Source: The Press and Journal
