It has already been clear since a while that the 67th Eurovision Song Contest is going to be held in the United Kingdom. Due to the fact that Ukraine has the privilege to host the upcoming ESC it is not feasible with the uncertain situation caused by the war in the country. A peaceful and safe contest could have not been guaranteed, even if the Ukrainian broadcaster UA:PBC was eager to convince the EBU.

The rules say that if the winning country is not able or willing to host the contest, the runner up is automatically in favour to host it. According to the BBC director Tim Bavie, the 2023 ESC will take place in a city in the United Kingdom, which has not been announced yet, but it will also reflect the Ukrainian culture. Additionally there will be a collaboration of the BBC and the UA:PBC. Even prime minster Boris Johnson has announced that the UK is helping their Ukrainian friends to host a fantastic contest.

There have been reports that Glasgow might be a strong contender as a host city, as they are having a big arena which is not been booked yet. Also Manchester could be an alternative. In the past the UK has hosted the ESC eight times, but won it only five times: 1960 London, 1963 London, 1968 London, 1972 Edinburgh, 1974 Brighton, London 1977, 1982 Harrogate and 1998 Birmingham. So it’s not the first time that the UK is helping out with hosting, the last time in 1971 Monaco won with Séverine and “Un Banc, Un Arbre, Une Rue”, but the 1972 ESC was held in Edinburgh.