Darlington has bid to host the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 with the Darlington Borough Council and Tees Valley Combined Authority supporting the bid.
Darlington has become a surprise addition to the race to become the host city of the Eurovision Song Contest 2023. Darlington is located in County Durham in North East England is home to around 100,000 people. Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen commented:
We may be the underdogs that people frequently underestimate but we’ve consistently proven them wrong by securing the likes of BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend, Rugby League World Cup 2021, and a raft of international music stars.
Whatever the outcome, our bid sets out our stall and shows we have the ambition, facilities and vision to do things a few years ago we wouldn’t have even thought about.
If successful, this will help us develop even closer relationships with Ukraine and its communities, while highlighting all our region has to offer on an international stage. Ultimately, though, if we are successful, we’ll deliver a fantastic show that our area, the entire country and – most importantly – Ukraine can be proud of.
Darlington is unlikely to be among the cities to make it through to the shortlist of cities through to the second stage of bidding on Friday morning. While Darlington is home to a 25,000-capacity stadium, the stadium lacks a roof that would make it suitable to host the competition.
How will the host city be chosen?
The selection process will consist of two rounds. After receiving all applications, bidding cities will be shortlisted “based on their ability to meet the requirements and their responses around capability and experience.”
The key requirement is described as follows:
“The final decision on selecting the Host City will be based on a city or region’s capacity and capability in meeting the BBC’s and the EBU’s requirements, as well as availability of resources and general experience in hosting a large and complex event such as the Eurovision Song Contest.”
The decision regarding where the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 will be held is expected to be made this autumn when the bidding process is completed. According to the BBC, the UK government may be consulted beforehand, but it will be the BBC and the EBU who will determine the host city.
Who is currently in the running to host?
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:
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: Northernhenge / Wikimedia | Source: The Northern Echo
