The leader of Nottingham Council says the city has decided against applying to host Eurovision 2023.

David Mellen said: “It’s really exciting that Eurovision is coming to the UK and for the country to host such a long-running, well-loved and prestigious international competition on behalf of Ukraine.”

“With a world-class Arena that hosts entertainment superstars and international sporting events, Nottingham’s infrastructure of hotels, restaurants and bars is geared towards welcoming fans from all over the world.”

“Together with local partners, we have carefully considered the criteria which potential host cities are required to meet ahead of submitting a formal application.”

“Unfortunately, despite having a great venue, a vibrant and diverse community and excellent green transport links, Nottingham doesn’t meet the wider capacity requirements for an event of this scale.”

“Sadly, we have collectively decided not to put forward a bid on this occasion.”

As previously discussed, the EBU requires that host cities have accommodation available for 2,000 people, which may explain why the city council has decided not to apply.

The city’s most acclaimed music venue — the Motorpoint Arena Nottingham — would have worked fine. 

Opened in 2000, it has hosted artists including Bruno Mars, Ed Sheeran, Katy Perry, Elton John, Lady Gaga, and One Direction. Little Mix welcomed a crowd of 15,685 back in 2018.

Plenty of A-listers will be performing there in the coming months. They include Sean Paul, Ne-Yo, George Ezra, Bob Dylan, Rod Stewart, Kaiser Chiefs, Florence + The Machine and Sugababes, who recently said they don’t want to perform at Eurovision

 

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HarpyDarper
HarpyDarper
1 year ago

Is the problem not enough hotel rooms? Or a few wider issues? If the UK won again in the future, what would the city need to build to be successful?

Also, just read an article on BBC News, saying that every bidding city has a packed schedule they would have to reschedule to accommodate the contest. Is this normal? How difficult/expensive is it to do this, and would it go against certain agreements? Or is the contest such a mega event that every venue will bend over backwards to have it?