Hotels in Southport have been inundated with bookings after Liverpool was announced as the venue for the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest.
The event in May next year will be staged at the 11,000-capacity dockside M&S Bank Arena, which is next to a conference centre and close to hotels and rail links. A Eurovision “village” will be built around the main event space to cater for thousands of tourists. More than 160 million tune in every year to watch the contest on television.
TV host Graham Norton appeared on The One Show earlier this evening to reveal where in the UK the event would take place after Liverpool and Glasgow were named the final two cities in the running last month.
The event is forecast to bring a huge financial boost to Liverpool, Southport and the rest of the Liverpool City Region.
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Within minutes of the host city announcement, many of Liverpool’s hotels were fully booked over Saturday 13th May. This includes all of the city’s Premier Inns and Travelodge hotels.
Southport’s hotels were very soon following suit.
Booking.com showed only one room left at The Vincent Hotel for this date, at £360; Cumberland House available for £3,300; Ashley Place coming up at £2,950; and the Prince of Wales at £200, with many venues already sold out.
A two-bed stay at The Scarisbrick Hotel on Lord Street was however still available for £89.
After the announcement, Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, said:
“While we came up against stiff competition from Glasgow, who deserve more than the nil points they have received on this occasion, nowhere is more experienced or qualified, and nowhere throws a party quite like we do.
“We want to put on a show that Ukraine would be proud of, and we have been working closely with Liverpool’s sister city of Odesa to ensure that this is their event as much as our own.
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“Now the hard work begins. Putting on a show that will give millions a night they will never forget in one of the most turbulent and trying years for our continent is no mean feat.
‘If anywhere is capable of it, it is the Liverpool City Region, with a little help from our friends in Ukraine.”
Twenty cities wanted to host the 2023 contest. That list was narrowed down to seven before the final two were announced last month.
Although this year’s competition was won by Ukraine’s Kalush Orchestra, organisers said – for safety reasons due to the ongoing war – the competition couldn’t be staged there.
The UK was chosen instead because its singer Sam Ryder was the runner-up in May, with his song Space Man.
“It means everything,” said Liverpool’s director of culture, Claire McColgan.
“We’re doing it for Ukraine first of all, for our brilliant city and for the people who come here. It’s going to be incredible.”
Eurovision organisers say a host venue needs to:
- Accommodate about 10,000 spectators
- Be within easy reach of an international airport
- Have enough hotel accommodation for at least 2,000 delegates, journalists and the all-important Eurovision fans
The venue will be needed for preparations for six to eight weeks ahead of the song contest, meaning the host city may need to move concerts or events that have already been scheduled.
Oleh Psiuk, the lead singer of 2022 winners Kalush Orchestra, expressed his gratitude to the UK for holding the event “in support of our country”.
Psiuk said he was “very sad” that Ukraine could not host the contest but he hoped it would “celebrate our beautiful, unique culture”.
“We, in turn, will make all efforts to help Ukraine win next year as well, so that Eurovision 2024 can take place in a peaceful country”, he added.
Officials have called for the singing competition to reflect and celebrate Ukrainian culture.
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