The BBC has confirmed the final two cities in the running to host the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 are Glasgow and Liverpool.
The two cities have been whittled down from a shortlist that included Birmingham, Leeds, Newcastle, Sheffield, and Manchester.
The 67th edition of the long-running competition, which launched the career of ABBA, will be hosted by the UK for the ninth time.
While Ukraine won Eurovision 2022, held in Turin, Italy, the European Broadcasting Union ruled it could not be held in the country because of the ongoing invasion by Russia.
Instead, the honour fell to the UK as they came in second place with act Sam Ryder, who scored 466 points with track Space Man.
Glasgow had been previously backed by Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who tweeted: ‘It’s got to be Glasgow! #Eurovision #TeamGlasgow.’
Lulu, who won the contest in 1969 with Boom Bang-a-Bang, also threw her support around the Scottish city in an appearance on Good Morning Britain in the summer.
Other cities to have thrown their hats in the ring in the early stages were Darlington, with local mayor Ben Houchen calling it an ‘underdog.’
After failing to reach the shortlist, Mr Houchen told Metro.co.uk he was ‘disappointed’ as his team had ‘put a strong bid together.’
He added: ‘Part of it was to put a roof on Darlington Arena, which would have been in the design of a Ukrainian flag, and the stadium itself would have been the globe of the world to show strength and support being given to the Ukraine by the rest of the world.’
Phil Harrold, the chair of the BBC’s Host City Selection Committee says: ‘Thanks to all seven cities across the UK who have demonstrated the enthusiasm and passion for Eurovision that exists right across the UK.
‘We were incredibly impressed by the quality and creativity of all the city bids, in what was a highly competitive field. The Eurovision Song Contest is a very complex event and Liverpool and Glasgow have the strongest overall offer; we will continue our discussions with them to determine the eventual host city.
‘We are determined to make the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest one that both reflects the winning position of Ukraine and is also an event that all of the UK can participate in.’
While the final two cities have been decided, the BBC has yet to indicate who might host one of the biggest presenting gigs of the year.
Fans are already crossing their fingers the likes of Graham Norton, Love Island’s Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu and Rylan Clark are being considered by the contest’s bosses.
The Eurovision Song Contest will air on BBC One in 2023.
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