In the follow up of the EBU’s official announcement that the United Kingdom and the BBC will host the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest, the next British city to put forward their bid is none other than Manchester!

Manchester will be officially applying to host Eurovision 2023 next year. Manchester City Councilor Bev Craig has announced via her official Twitter account that Manchester will be bidding to host Eurovision 2023:

Manchester will be bidding to host @Eurovision @bbceurovision

A world class music city, brilliant venues, experience in hosting major events, and of course one of the UK’s largest Ukrainian populations- we are confident we will make it a #eurovision to remember.
More to follow

Manchester will be bidding to host @Eurovision @bbceurovision

A world class music city, brilliant venues, experience in hosting major events, and of course one of the UK’s largest Ukrainian populations- we are confident we will make it a #eurovision to remember.
More to follow https://t.co/oTnvQZfDXf

— Bev Craig (@bevcraig) July 25, 2022

It seems we’re paving into a two horse race between Glasgow and Manchester for hosting Eurovision 2023, as both cities are strong contenders to bag the bid!

The Potential Venues

The City of Manchester has all it takes to host the event, numerous suitable venues, great hotel room capacity, an efficient transport system and a international airport linking to most European capitals and cities.

The city boasts of great infrastructure and know how when it comes to hosting large music and sports events. Notably the BBC’s Media City is also located in Greater Manchester, namely at Salford and is also the BBC Eurovision’s headquarters. The UK’s jury votes were delivered by AJ Odudu from the Media City in Salford.

We must not forget that Manchester has the biggest Ukrainian population outside of London and the city has three potential venues which host the competition next year:

• Co Op Live Arena- (set to open in 2023) with a capacity of 23, 500 spectators
• AO Arena- with a capacity of 21,000 spectators
• Manchester Central- with a capacity of 10,900 spectators

Katrina backs Manchester’s bid

The 1997 British Eurovision winner Katrina Leskanich from Katrina and the Waves is backing Manchester’s bid to host the competition in the UK next year. Katrina told BBC Radio live 5:

The Bidding Race is set to kick off

The BBC will be opening the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest Host City Bidding Process this week. The potential city has to meet a series of requirements in order to win the coveted bid:

• An indoor venue that can house circa 10,000 spectators
• An international airport in close proximity
• Hotel capacity (2,000 rooms available) for delegations, artists, journalists and accredited officials
• An efficient transport system in the city
• Infrastructure/ venues/ locations to house the Eurovision Village, Press Centre, Delegation Bubble, Euroclub, Opening Ceremony Event, Turquoise Carpet.

Source: BBC/ESCToday