In 2023, the Eurovision Song Contest will take place in the English city of Liverpool, the organisation behind the event announced on Friday. Due to Russia's invasion of this year's winner Ukraine, the competition will be hosted by the UK instead.
In May 2022, the Ukrainian band Kalush Orchestra won the Eurovision Song Contest with its song Stefania. Under normal circumstances, the winning country has the honour of hosting the event the year after, but the war has made that impossible.
As a result, the choice fell to the United Kingdom, which finished second this year with Sam Ryder's Space man. Along with the Scottish city of Glasgow, Liverpool remained last on the shortlist. On Friday, presenter Graham Norton announced the decision for Liverpool live on BBC.
The Eurovision Song Contest has been hosted eight times by the UK, but never before in Liverpool – which has a long tradition in pop music, as the hometown of The Beatles. The song contest will most likely take place at the M&S Bank Arena, which has room for 11,000 spectators.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy initially wanted to host the Song Contest held in Mariupol, a city virtually wiped off the map by Russia. In July, he agreed to let the European show take place outside his country.
