It has been confirmed that Cardiff will not bid to host the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 have investigated a potential bid.
The Welsh capital Cardiff will not bid to host the Eurovision Song Contest 2023. Cardiff Council, the Welsh Government and the Principality Stadium have released a joint statement. The city has pulled out of bidding due to events already being organised in Cardiff at the time that Eurovision would be held in 2023.
Since it was confirmed that the UK would host the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest, Cardiff Council, the Welsh Government and Principality Stadium have been working at pace to establish the feasibility of a bid to host the event in Wales’ capital city
Cardiff’s very strong track record in hosting major events, and the world-class Principality Stadium, would have made it a natural fit for such a significant production.
The BBC, as the event organisers, have released detailed specifications for each city wishing to bid to host the event. As partners, we have been working through these in detail. It is clear that on many of these Cardiff would have a very strong case to become the host city for Eurovision 2023.
However, the complexity of staging the event means that a significant number of scheduled events in the Principality Stadium during Spring 2023 would have to be cancelled as a result. These include the European Wheelchair Rugby Championships, ‘The Road to Principality’, a key event in the WRU Community rugby calendar, and a major international artist contracted to appear, among other events.
We have been in rapid discussion with the BBC to explore any potential options which might have been able to accommodate the event alongside the existing schedule. Unfortunately, we have not been able to find a workable solution, and therefore we have collectively agreed that it will not be possible for a Cardiff bid to go forward. We thank the BBC for their positive engagement with us, and we wish the winning city all the best in staging the 2023 competition.
The following cities have confirmed that work has started on their bids:
While the following cities have already stated their intention to submit a bid or are investigating whether to bid:
- Belfast
- Brighton
- Derry
- Leeds
- London
- Manchester
- Newcastle
- Nottingham
- Sheffield
- Sunderland
- Wolverhampton
The 2023 contest will be the first contest since 1979 in which the winning nation was unable to host the following contest. It is the sixth occasion overall on which the country has hosted after the original host nation was unable to, following the Netherlands in 1960, France in 1963, Monaco in 1972, Luxembourg in 1974 Israel in 1980 and Ukraine in 2023. The 2023 contest will also extend the United Kingdom’s record of hosting Eurovision to nine times.
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: Richard Szwejkowski / Wikimedia | Source: Wales Online
