The number of British cities confirming that they will be officially submitting a bid to host Eurovision 2023 is growing by the day. Following Glasgow, Sheffield and Manchester the next city  that has announced that it will be officially bidding to host the competetition next year is none other than Birmigham!

Birmingham is vying to host Eurovision 2023 at the World Resorts Arena.The City of Birmigham has confirmed that it will officially apply to host the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest.

Ian Ward (Birmingham City Council) and Andy Street (Mayor of West Midlands) have both confirmed to ITV News that Birmingham will be bidding to host Eurovision 2023 at the World Resorts Arena which is located near Birmigham Airport.

Ian Ward (Birmingham City Council) says:

For many decades Birmingham has developed a deserved reputation as a city that hosts world-class events and we know that our city is hugely popular with athletes, performers and spectators.

We’ve hosted G8 summits, World Cup Rugby, two editions of the World Indoor Athletics Championships, a Papal visit, the Eurovision Song Contest, international football fixtures, and now the Commonwealth Games – a huge multi-sport event, delivered in half the usual time.

Andy Street (Mayor of West Midlands) says:

Resorts World Arena has a strong track record in hosting major televised events and awards…The venue was proud to host the ‘Concert for Ukraine’ live on ITV, bringing together some of the world’s biggest artists to help raise a staggering £13.4 million for the Disasters Emergency Committee.

 

Busy day ahead of the start of the Birmingham 2022 #CommonwealthGames tomorrow -interviewed the Mayor of the West Midlands as he announced Resorts World Arena as the location of the city’s bid for the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 as part of a ‘Golden Decade’ of events in the city pic.twitter.com/6giYZA86aL

— Raheem Rashid (@RaheemRashid) July 27, 2022

 

The Potential venue

Birmingham hosted the 1998 Eurovision Song Contest and has great experience in hosting large scale concerts and events. The city will be hosting the Commonwealth Games in the summer and has the perfect venue to host the the competition: the Resorts World Arena can house circa 16,000 spectators.

Birmingham’s Resorts World Arena has cleared its schedule for May 2023 in order to accomodate the Eurovision Song Contest. The venue is all set to do its level best to bring the Eurovision Song Contest to Birmingham.

Birmingham has the infrastructure and logistics to host the Eurovision Song Contest, an international airport with numerous international flight connections, an efficient transport system and great experience in hosting large events.

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: ESCToday/ITV