Eurovision 2023 - BBC

[Brekkie]

It just goes to show that there really is an appeal to hosting it and no surprise when you look at the ratings it gets across Europe and the promotion the host city gets. I'd imagine as costly as it may be perceived to host they more than make it back through money into the local economy.

[telebox2001]

Yes the NEC isn't central but if there's space enough to house all the ancillary stuff (Eurovision Village, Eurovision Club and so on) that becomes less of an issue.

[Phil Cobbold]

The NEC is also really close to Birmingham Airport, and has a station next door. So transport to the venue wouldn't be an issue.

[deejay]

I think there are a few UK options the EBU will happily consider. Birmingham at the NEC, London Excel, Glasgow Hydro to name but three. However the BBC hasn’t said a great deal on this other than a relatively non committal press release confirming the EBU have approached them. I would love to see a uk hosted contest but I also appreciate this is a really tricky situation for the EBU to find itself in.

[telebox2001]

It isn't the BBC way to conduct this sort of stuff in the public eye, however, and I think that's been borne out in the dignified silence from the Corporation compared to to the "we'll do it's" from several other broadcasters before Te Deum had barely finished. I would also like to think the BBC are finding a way forward to allow UABC a co-production role in any British-hosted competition.

I'm of the view that no news is good news. However, time is of the essence and over a twelfth of the planning time has already gone. I do not believe we will have long to wait, given it took a month to rule out Ukraine completely.

Let's also not forget that a huge number of cities have come forward, in those there's probably four realistic options - London, Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow. Sadly I fear Aberdeen, Leeds and Liverpool won't make the final cut and the other bids fail to tick a number of EBU boxes (Cardiff's lack of connectivity to a major airport rules them out, and it transpires that the roof of the Millennium Stadium is not load-bearing, which as followers of Ola Melzig's blogs back in the day will know is a massive red line.) That all takes time to sift through.

[Brekkie]

I think the BBC press release gave the impression they were taken by surprise by how quickly the EBU reached the inevitable decision. Whether they were is another question, but I suspect they didn't want it to come across as they'd been working with the EBU to strip Ukraine of hosting the contest.

There is no reason for the BBC to not host it - the will is there for them to do so, especially off the back of them taking it seriously for once and doing Eurovision justice. The political will is there too. They will get far more criticism for not hosting it than they would for hosting it at the moment.

[telebox2001]

I think the BBC press release gave the impression they were taken by surprise by how quickly the EBU reached the inevitable decision.  Whether they were is another question, but I suspect they didn't want it to come across as they'd been working with the EBU to strip Ukraine of hosting the contest.

There is no reason for the BBC to not host it - the will is there for them to do so, especially off the back of them taking it seriously for once and doing Eurovision justice.    The political will is there too.  They will get far more criticism for not hosting it than they would for hosting it at the moment.

To be honest, Brekkie, I think this is a massive lifeline for the BBC.  Why would you turn down a chance to show yourself off to the world at your absolute best at such a crucial time?

[Keith]

Let's also not forget that a huge number of cities have come forward, in those there's probably four realistic options - London, Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow.

I suspect politics are likely to play a factor in which city hosts it, probably more government related than BBC. London whilst more than capable of hosting it, politically doesn't fit in with the current UK government's 'levelling up agenda'. Also would Eurovision potentially count towards the BBC's nation / outside of London programming quota?

[Brekkie]

Practically too I suspect it's cheaper to host (both the venue and for hotels) it outside of London too and with more flexibile access to the arena too.

Wembley Arena has a base rate of £29k a day to hire it out - drawn a blank of finding comparable figures elsewhere but be interesting to see if anyone stumbles across them. I think though both Wembley and The O2 don't necessarily have the ancillary facilities on site that some of the out of London venues have - both Glasgow and Aberdeen have arenas as part of complexes which include exhibition venues and in Aberdeens case an on site hotel too. I think Birmingham has that too. Not so sure about Manchester though.

[Newshound47]

I just all think this is slightly premature as I am just not sure the BBC will decide to host if the Ukrainians are still upset about having hosting rights taken away and multiple governments are urging the EBU to reconsider.

[Whataday]

Cardiff isn't a perfect option but when they had the UEFA Champions League at the stadium they managed an impressive set up, using the adjacent Cardiff Arms Park (which is often used to provide ancillary support for events) and across the road Bute Park provided acres of land for a fanzone and such like.

There's also the fact that BBC Wales' state of the art HQ is right next to the stadium and is connected to it via a fibre optic link.

[Markymark]

Cardiff isn't a perfect option but when they had the UEFA Champions League at the stadium they managed an impressive set up, using the adjacent Cardiff Arms Park (which is often used to provide ancillary support for events) and across the road Bute Park provided acres of land for a fanzone and such like.

There's also the fact that BBC Wales' state of the art HQ is right next to the stadium and is connected to it via a fibre optic link.

BBC Wales is very unlikely to have enough connectivity to provide all the circuits in and out to provide what's required for the ESC,  but it's possible the ground floor studio space could be used to build the comms centre and house the equipment bays

[Jon]

I think the infrastructure issue, isn’t really the issue it’s made out to be by some. Most of these cities host much bigger events (over a shorter amount time) on a weekly basis with the likes of top flight football. There is a televised music festival hosting 200,000 people, this week in a village in Somerset this week, granted hotel rooms aren’t an issue there.

I think most of the smaller nations would by capable of hosting in much smaller cities then ones put forward here and I agree some cities will be better placed than others, but all will capable.

[telebox2001]

Well the BBC do have to agree first. Most likely they will.

I just all think this is slightly premature as I am just not sure the BBC will decide to host if the Ukrainians are still upset about having hosting rights taken away and multiple governments are urging the EBU to reconsider.

You reckon?  Why didn't you say, you should have mentioned it once or twice.

[p2004]

I just all think this is slightly premature as I am just not sure the BBC will decide to host if the Ukrainians are still upset about having hosting rights taken away and multiple governments are urging the EBU to reconsider.

Have to say, I believe you're banking far too much on the idea that Ukraine/Suspilne being unhappy has any swing with the EBU. The EBU are focused on trying to find a suitable host because they, for their part, do not view it as feasible to host a contest in Ukraine (which of course is very reasonable). However, the truth is Suspilne have effectively already been stripped of this right, and the EBU are not of the opinion that it is possible at all that any potential Ukraine-based contest is possible.

The BBC is not dealing with the idea of Suspilne being rejected, and I doubt it'd hold any swing with the people discussing with the EBU. Politicians from Europe or even Boris Johnson are free to say whatever they want - but they were not there at the discussion table, discussing the feasibility of a contest in Ukraine with Suspilne and the EBU, so they are not really an authority at all on this topic. The BBC is unlikely to pass up to be fairly honest - the wide array of cities that have expressed interest prove there is appetite for hosting Eurovision, and the BBC will be expected to cater to it.