The City of Cardiff, the capital of Wales, has decided to drop off the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest Host City Bidding race. Hence Cardiff will not bid to host Eurovision 2023 next year.

Welsh Eurovision fans will be dismayed to know that Cardiff has decided not to bid to host Eurovision 2023. Cardiff was vying to host the contest at the Principality Stadium which could accomodate circa 70,000 spectators.

The Cardiff Council, Municipality Stadium and the Welsh Government have come to a decision to pull out of the 2023 Eurovision host city race as they don’t see it feasible as it will entail cancelling and rescheduling a large number of signifcant events.

The three entities have released the following joint statement.

Since it was confirmed that the UK would host the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest, Cardiff Council, the Welsh Government and Principality Stadium have been working at pace to establish the feasibility of a bid to host the event in Wales’ capital city.

Cardiff’s very strong track record in hosting major events, and the world-class Principality Stadium, would have made it a natural fit for such a significant production.

The BBC, as the event organisers, have released detailed specifications for each city wishing to bid to host the event. As partners, we have been working through these in detail. It is clear that on many of these, Cardiff would have a very strong case to become the host city for Eurovision 2023.

However, the complexity of staging the event means that a significant number of scheduled events in the Principality Stadium during Spring 2023 would have to be cancelled as a result.

These include the European Wheelchair Rugby Championships, ‘The Road to Principality’, a key event in the WRU Community rugby calendar, and a major international artist contracted to appear, among other events. We have been in rapid discussion with the BBC to explore any potential options which might have been able to accommodate the event alongside the existing schedule.

Unfortunately, we have not been able to find a workable solution, and therefore we have collectively agreed that it will not be possible for a Cardiff bid to go forward. We thank the BBC for their positive engagement with us, and we wish the winning city all the best in staging the 2023 competition.

The Host Bidding Race has kicked off

The BBC has opened the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest Host City Bidding Process. 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.

With Cardiff out of the race now it seems that Glasgow‘s chances to host the competition are stronger, with Manchester and Birmingham close behind.

The EBU will be releasing the list of potential Eurovision 2023 host city throughought the course of the summer, whilst the the name of the 2023 Eurovision Host City will be disclosed by Autumn.

Source: ITV/ESCToday