One of the favourites to host the Eurovision Song Contest next year was Cardiff, boasting an impressive 80,000 seat venue in the Principality Stadium. However, it has been announced that Cardiff will not be continuing with their bid.
Cardiff had been a firm favourite ever since rumours of Eurovision 2023 coming to the UK began. Not only had Eurovision never come to Wales before, while having previously been hosting in England and Scotland, but also Cardiff had the largest available venue, the Principality Stadium, capable of holding 80,000 people, on offer. Cardiff also has strong links to Ukraine, which many thought would be a very powerful feature of their bid. Additionally, BBC News presenter, Huw Edwards, endorsed Cardiff as a Host City, while also claiming he’d love to host the contest, if held there.
Sadly, due to the European Wheelchair Rugby Championships needing to be rescheduled, if the event came to the Principality Stadium, the Welsh Government, Cardiff City Council & the Stadium themselves, were forced to announce that they would be withdrawing their bid.
Since it was confirmed that the UK would host the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest, Cardiff Council, the Welsh Government and Principality Stadium have been working at pace to establish the feasibility of a bid to host the event in Wales’ capital city
Cardiff’s very strong track record in hosting major events, and the world-class Principality Stadium, would have made it a natural fit for such a significant production.
The BBC, as the event organisers, have released detailed specifications for each city wishing to bid to host the event. As partners, we have been working through these in detail. It is clear that on many of these Cardiff would have a very strong case to become the host city for Eurovision 2023.
However, the complexity of staging the event means that a significant number of scheduled events in the Principality Stadium during Spring 2023 would have to be cancelled as a result. These include the European Wheelchair Rugby Championships, ‘The Road to Principality’, a key event in the WRU Community rugby calendar, and a major international artist contracted to appear, among other events.
We have been in rapid discussion with the BBC to explore any potential options which might have been able to accommodate the event alongside the existing schedule. Unfortunately, we have not been able to find a workable solution, and therefore we have collectively agreed that it will not be possible for a Cardiff bid to go forward. We thank the BBC for their positive engagement with us, and we wish the winning city all the best in staging the 2023 competition.
Joint Statement – Welsh Government, Cardiff City Council & Principality Stadium
And so there were 16…
Out of the sixteen announced to be submitting bids, the favourites are now currently Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester & Birmingham.
