London will bid to host Eurovision 2023 says Sadiq Khan

Sadiq Khan has confirmed that London will put in a bid to host the Eurovision Song Contest next May. The UK has been asked to host next year’s event despite Ukraine’s win, due to the ongoing Russian offensive. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) issued a statement earlier this month saying that the ongoing war meant that “the security and operational guarantees required for a broadcaster to host, organise and produce the Eurovision Song Contest under the ESC rules cannot be fulfilled by [Ukraine]”.

At Mayor’s Question Time (MQT) on Thursday (June 23), Green Party Assembly Member Zack Polanski asked Mr Khan: “Something that’s hugely important to us in the LGBT+ community is Eurovision…Is that something you’d consider putting a bid in for if our Ukrainian friends support it, in solidarity?”

Sadiq Khan responded: “Ideally we’d want Eurovision of some kind to take place in Ukraine. There’s a date by which the organising committee needs to know it’s going to take place. My understanding is that with the best will in the world, Ukraine can’t provide that certainty…If it doesn’t, you betcha – I want it to be London. We’ve let those in charge know and we hope to make progress on that. Wouldn’t it be fantastic to have Eurovision in London? We had the premier of Abba Voyage in London. It would be great to have cross party support.”

READ MORE: Eurovision winners sell pink bucket hat and trophy to buy Ukraine drones

It is not clear which venue would host a Eurovision in London, with a required capacity over more than 10,000 people. While Mr Khan did not go into detail on venues, The O2 Arena in Greenwich (capacity 20,000) and SSE Wembley Arena (capacity 12,500) would be among the most likely contenders. The BBC appeared to be downbeat on the prospect of hosting Eurovision, saying in a statement: “We have seen the announcement from the EBU. Clearly these aren’t a set of circumstances that anyone would want. Following their decision, we will of course discuss the BBC hosting the Eurovision Song Contest.”

Ukraine’s Kalush Orchestra won Eurovision in May with their song Stefania after securing a total of 631 points – 192 from the jury and a whopping 439 from the public. The UK, represented by Sam Ryder’s song Spaceman, got second place with 283 jury points and 183 from the public, totalling 466 points. Russia was not permitted to participate in this year’s Eurovision amid sanctions on the Putin-led state.

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