The beauty parade has begun. Cities from across the United Kingdom have started their publicity drives to host next year’s Eurovision Song Contest after organisers announced the UK would hold the annual shindig on behalf of war-torn Ukraine, this year’s winner. You can almost hear the sound of regional elbows being sharpened.
Glasgow is “one of the world’s premier events cities” and is “famed for the warmth” of its welcome to visitors, the City Council’s leader Susan Aitken told the BBC this morning. Aitken said that Glasgow has the ability to cope with the challenging logistics of hosting Eurovision having hosted the COP climate change conference last year. She added that the city’s bid is backed by Eurovision’s 1969 joint winner Lulu, and even pointed out that Glasgow is namechecked in a song by 1974 winners ABBA (Super Trouper).
Meanwhile Jonathan Pryor, deputy leader of Leeds City Council, argued that the West Yorkshire city is home to one of the largest Ukrainian populations in the UK. Next year will be the 75th anniversary of Ukrainian people “making roots” in Leeds, he said, making the city the “perfect” location for Eurovision. Over in Wales, Cardiff Council and the management of the city’s vast Principality Stadium have indicated their interest in staging the event. Other cities said to be keen include Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, London, Belfast, Newcastle and Aberdeen.
The BBC and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which runs Eurovision, have said the winning city will be chosen in the coming months following a “bidding process” to be launched this week. The actual dates for next year’s competition yet to be finalised although the grand final usually takes place in May.
All of which begs an obvious question: why? Why would a city want play host to a challenging and complicated event that has, through its participants, awarded the UK the dreaded “nul points” so many times in recent years?
