It's finally been decided: The ESC 2023 will be held in Liverpool.
That's exactly what the BBC recently announced. Next year, however, the European singing competition is likely to be somewhat different. Among other things, it was emphasized that the logo in 2023 will not show the Union Jack, but the Ukrainian flag.
Next year's event will be the 67th of its kind. The event is scheduled to take place on May 13, 2023. The venue will be Liverpool's M&S Bank Arena. There will be space for a total of around 11,000 visitors.
Many queer visitors should also feel comfortable here. Especially in the city center there are cafés, clubs and the like. that appeal to the LGBTQIA+ scene. Accordingly, it would be a good idea to spend a few days in the city to get to know the location with all its facets.
A close race?
Until recently, various cities were mentioned again and again when it came to speculating about the location of the ESC. Among the hot contenders were Sheffield, Newcastle, Leeds and Manchester.
And actually, more cities felt like becoming the center of the ESC world in one evening.
Liverpool finally managed to convince in various categories, among others with regard to the hotels and their capacities on site, press centers and an uncomplicated journey. And the decision is already being celebrated on social networks, among other places. After all, Liverpool is not only known as the "home of the Beatles", but also as a city with a very special flair. And that's exactly what all visitors (and, of course, the ESC participants) can now benefit from.
In addition, Great Britain has a lot of experience with hosting the ESC - and can enjoy the "luxury" of being able to occupy a seeded place in the final. This means that the country does not have to participate in the preliminary round.
Great Britain as a proven host
In 2023, Great Britain will host the ESC for the ninth time. Among others, the event has already taken place in London and Edinburgh.
Interestingly, the UK has often replaced the actual host. Accordingly, the organizers have experience hosting an event while giving the actual host country a special role. The probability that Ukraine will be the actual start of the ESC 2023 is high.
Whether it will be enough to win, as in 2022, remains to be seen.
The ESC 2022 - A look back
The ESC in 2022 was also a little "different". After all, it was overshadowed by the Ukraine war. Many people saw the victory of the Kalush Orchestra as a kind of expression of sympathy for Ukraine. At that time, second place went to Sam Ryder, who entered the race for Great Britain.
And already after it became clear that Ukraine had won the competition with its political song, the first voices were raised that it would not be possible to host the event in 2023 in Ukraine, for example in Kiev. It would simply not have been possible to guarantee the safety of all participants here.
UK and Ukraine to co-host ESC 2023
It is already clear that the BBC will host and organize the ESC 2023 together with UA:PBC, the Ukrainian public broadcaster. This broadcaster can also look back on a wide range of experience with the ESC. It had the honor of organizing the event in 2005 and in 2017.
All participants can already look forward to an exciting, interesting and - of course - very musical evening with many emotional moments.
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