Eurovision 2023: Newcastle officially bids for hosting the contest

by Sanjay (Sergio) Jiandani 497 views

The next British city to announce that it will be officially bid to host Eurovision 2023 is none other than Newcastle!

The Newcastle Utilita Arena (Photo credit: tripadvisor)

Thus Newcastle joins the likes of Leeds, London, Glasgow, Manchester, Birmingham and Sheffield in the list of cities who have so far confirmed that they will be officially bidding to host Eurovision 2023.

The City of Newcastle is all set to host Europe’s favourite television show next year. The Newcastle Utilita Arena is the the potential venue to host the competition as it can accomodate circa 11,000 spectators.

Ian Thomas (NewcastleGateshead Initiative Director) says:

This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to welcome a huge number of international visitors, performers and media to the North East of England and to showcase our world-class culture, rich heritage and vibrant region to the world.

The potential impact of Newcastle hosting Eurovision 2023 is phenomenal. Eurovision will play a significant role in rejuvenating and sustaining our visitor economy, supporting our businesses and creating an even better place for our residents.

We’ve seen other large events such as the European Professional Rugby Club finals attract 95,000 fans to the region which contributed £24m to our visitor economy in 2019, and World Transplant Games also in 2019 brought in attendees from over 50 countries which pushed hotel occupancy rates up by 13%, supporting the hospitality supply chain and helping to sustain jobs within the industry.

Eurovision will be on an even bigger scale, and we welcome this fantastic opportunity to bring this to the region

Newcastle has much to offer when it comes to nightlife, restaurants and bars. The city boasts of an extraordinary music and entertainment scene having great experience in hosting large scale concerts.

Newcastle

The Newcastle International Airport is very well connected to most European capitals and serves many international airlines, notably it is the larges airport in North East England. Newcastle has an efficient transport system including rail, metro and bus services.

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.

The EBU will be releasing the shortlist of potential Eurovision 2023 host city via on BBC Radio 2 later this week , whilst the the name of the 2023 Eurovision Host City will be disclosed by Autumn.

Source: Sky News / ESCToday