Liverpool may have won the right to host Eurovision 2023, but details regarding the failed bid from Edinburgh have been revealed.
£18 million cost for Eurovision 2023 for Edinburgh
According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, bringing Eurovision to Edinburgh would cost the local council £17.6 million (€19.9 million).
Delving into the detail, the Scottish capital would host the Contest at the Royal Highland Centre, based right next to Edinburgh Airport. This space has a capacity of around 10,500 people. As well as this, the Eurovillage would be set up in the city centre. However, a specific location for the Eurovillage was not outlined.
Despite the Scottish capital previously hosting Eurovision in 1972, Edinburgh failed to reach the shortlist stage of the process. Following this, Edinburgh City Council refused to provide details of its bid citing commercial interests. This decision was reversed, as the Council said their response was “inappropriate”.
In a statement, Council leader Cammy Day acknowledged other cities had better bids. However, he rejected claims that Edinburgh had no chance to host the Contest:
We would have supported it. We would have worked with partners and I’m sure a number of the city’s investors would be keen to have their name on all this as well. But there was no [financial] commitment.
I think there’s a call for us now quite rightly to look at how the capital city of Scotland, which is growing every week, hosts these major events going forward. Should we always have to travel to Glasgow or to Manchester and Newcastle for events? Or should we be saying the capital should have a proper venue.
This has spurred an opportunity. That might be entirely unaffordable or it could be something we could work on.
Cllr Cammy Day, Edinburgh City Council leader
United Kingdom’s Eurovision journey
Despite a recent slump in results, the UK is one of the most successful countries at the Eurovision Song Contest. Debuting at the second edition ever of the Contest in 1957, the United Kingdom has won the competition on five separate occasions. The most recent win for the UK was in 1997 with Katrina and the Waves, singing “Love Shine A Light”. The UK also holds the record for the number of second place finishes – currently at 16.
In 2022, the UK was represented by Sam Ryder with his song “SPACE MAN”. The performance managed to impress juries and televoters, and the UK finished in second place with 466 points, their best placing since 1998.
What do you think of Edinburgh’s hosting bid for Eurovision bid? Should the BBC have chosen the Scottish capital instead of Liverpool? Will Edinburgh get to host the Contest again in the future? As always, let us know what you think by commenting below. Also, be sure to follow “That Eurovision Site” on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Tiktok as we look ahead to Liverpool 2023!
News Source: LDRS
Photo Credit: That Eurovision Site
