The city of Newcastle has formally confirmed it has submitted a bid to be the next city to host the Eurovision Song Contest 2023!
Newcastle City Council throws support behind bid
As cities across the UK continue to confirm their bids, Newcastle City Council officially confirmed on Monday (August 8th) that the city will be bidding to bring Eurovision to the North East. Speaking to the Newcastle Chronicle, Councillor Alex Hay, said the Council will do all it can to collaborate with the entire region.
We are delighted to be bidding to host Eurovision 2023 on behalf of Ukraine and stand in solidarity with its people. We are collaborating with partners across the region to help make this a reality for Newcastle, to do Ukraine proud and to embody everything that Eurovision stands for.
“We’re committed to making Newcastle a better place for our residents and visitors, and hosting Eurovision will be a crucial tool in achieving that.
We are Newcastle, we are a safe city, famous for our Geordie welcome, we stand united with Ukraine – and we are the perfect host for Eurovision 2023.
Cllr Alex Hay, Cabinet Member for a Resilient City for Newcastle City Council
Specific details around the Geordie bid
As we previously reported, Newcastle’s bid centres around the Utilita Arena in the west of the city. With a concert capacity of 11,000 people, the arena would meet requirements set by the EBU. In addition to this, the city is well connected with an international airport serving destinations across Europe.
The city’s bid will be organised on behalf of the Council by the NewcastleGateshead Initiative. Director of the organisation Ian Thomas, said that Newcastle’s previous experience of hosting large-scale events would make it the perfect host city for Eurovision.
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.
Ian Thomas, Destination Director at the NewcastleGateshead Initiative
Which cities are in the running to host Eurovision 2023
The following cities have confirmed that they will be bidding to host the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest:
The following cities have publicly stated that they are intending or interested in submitting a bid to host the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest:
What do you think of Newcastle’s bid to host Eurovision 2023? Do you think the city stands a chance to be next year’s host city? Where would you like to see the Contest hosted? As always, let us know what you think by commenting below. Also, be sure to follow “That Eurovision Site” on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter as we gear up for Eurovision 2023!
News Source: Newcastle Chronicle Live
Photo Credit: Kayak.com
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