Seven British cities have been selected to host the next Eurovision song contest organized by the United Kingdom on behalf of Ukraine due to the Russian invasion, the BBC reported on Friday.
Of the twenty cities that had expressed interest in hosting the iconic competition, Birmingham, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield were selected. Cities such as London or Belfast (Northern Ireland) have been ruled out. The decision will be announced in the fall.
The UK hasn’t hosted Eurovision since 1998, then in Birmingham, central England. The country has hosted the competition eight times.
67th edition withdrawn from Ukraine for security reasons
After its very symbolic first place in Turin last May, Ukraine had initially strongly contested the decision of the organizer of the event, followed every year by tens of millions of viewers, to withdraw the 67th edition of the contest for security reasons.
In June, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) considered that the security conditions were not met for Ukraine to organize the competition and opened negotiations with the United Kingdom, which came in second place.
On July 25, an agreement was announced between the EBU and the British government for the BBC to host the contest, in a version that will feature Ukraine.
United Kingdom, an important support for Ukraine
The UK has been at the forefront of supporting Kyiv since the beginning of the Russian invasion, imposing unprecedented economic sanctions on Moscow and supplying lethal weapons to the Ukrainian military at an early stage. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been in close contact with President Volodymyr Zelensky, whom he has visited twice since the start of the new Russian offensive in February.
Big favourite, the Kalush Orchestra won the final of the competition in May with the song Stephanie mixing hip-hop and traditional music, a victory that symbolizes Ukrainian resilience in war and European popular solidarity.
The British Sam Ryder and his title astronaut he had secured second place, an unexpected result for Brits accustomed to being bottom of the table in recent years, with a pitifully blank score in 2021.
Source: BFM TV
