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Eurovision 2023: Nottingham becomes latest city to rule itself out of hosting bid -Charlotte Manning-Entertainment – Metro
A shortlist will be released tomorrow.
A city in the UK will take on the contest, but not Nottingham (Picture: Getty)
Nottingham will not be in the mix to host Eurovision 2023, the leader of the city’s council has confirmed.
Last month the BBC confirmed the UK would be taking charge of next year’s contest after it was previously announced winners Ukraine had been ruled out amid the ongoing Russian invasion.
A number of cities are thought to be eyeing up a bid to be chosen as host, with locations such as Manchester, Brighton, Sheffield and Birmingham in the mix.
However, the city of Nottingham has become the latest to confirm it won’t be pursuing a bid for next year’s Eurovision.
David Mellen, leader of Nottingham City Council, has explained that while the city has a vast array of hotels, restaurants, and a world-class arena, it would simply not be enough this time around.
He said: ‘We have carefully considered the criteria which potential host cities are required to meet ahead of submitting a formal application.
Nottingham won’t be welcoming next year’s contest to the city (Picture: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
‘Unfortunately, despite having a great venue, a vibrant and diverse community and excellent green transport links, Nottingham doesn’t meet the wider capacity requirements for an event of this scale.
‘Sadly, we have collectively decided not to put forward a bid on this occasion.’
Kalush Orchestra won the competition in 2022 (Picture: Giorgio Perottino/Getty Images)
Greg Nugent, chair at The Nottingham Project, added to the BBC that the city would ‘probably fall short’ of what is needed for the large live TV event.
A shortlist of potential host cities will be announced live tomorrow, August 11, on Radio 2, ahead of the two-stage process.
It comes after the news that none of the arenas that would be eligible to host Eurovision (with a capacity 10,000+), currently have space in their schedules to do so.
Sam Ryder was the runner-up for the UK at Eurovision (Picture: Marco BERTORELLO / AFP)
This included Nottingham’s Motorpoint Arena, which chief executive Martin Ingham confirmed had already committed itself to other shows.
Any venue hosting the contest would need around six-to-eight weeks free from other events in its calendar.
Nottingham’s Motorpoint Arena would have been used by the city, in the event of a successful bid (Picture: Nigel Roddis/Getty Images)
Upcoming shows including Magic Mike Live! and Elton John all have shows booked in places bidding to hold the contest during that period, including Liverpool, Leeds and Glasgow.
This means that the chosen venue will likely have to postpone or cancel a selection of upcoming performances next year, to allow the contest to go ahead.
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This year’s head of show in Turin, Claudio Santucci told BBC: ‘It’s a long period of rehearsals to make it work.
‘It’s an event that would normally take two years to organise but instead you have less than a year because you only know when you win.’
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Following the confirmation that the UK will host Eurovision 2023, a BBC spokesperson said in a statement: ‘The Eurovision Song Contest is a co-production of the host broadcaster and participating members of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU).
‘There are a number of funding options to be explored that will contribute towards delivering a fantastic event and great value for Licence Fee payers.’
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