Eurovision rumours surface as competition host city set to be announced as Glasgow or Liverpool

Two cities in the running to host next year’s Eurovision Song Contest will have their fate revealed on Friday as the final decision is made.

Glasgow and Liverpool are the only two in the running having fought off the shortlist competition to hold the annual event in place of Ukraine.

Veteran commentator Graham Norton revealed that the winning host city would be announced on BBC’s The One Show on Friday night while appearing as a guest on The Chris Evans Show on Sky.

Norton did not confirm the exact time that the host city would be announced but said by the time The One Show airs the answer will be known.

The only city in Scotland to make the shortlist has made the final two after the competition that included Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, Newcastle, Sheffield and Manchester was whittled down.

Ukrainian entry Kalush Orchestra triumphed at the 2022 competition in Turin, Italy, but the European Broadcasting Union, which produces the annual event, decided the show cannot be held in the country following Russia’s invasion.

The selected city will be crowned host of the 67th Eurovision Song Contest after the UK was given the chance to host the event for the ninth time – more than any other country – after Sam Ryder came second in the competition.

Although the event’s dates haven’t been confirmed, a search on Booking.com shows that 90% of Glasgow hotel rooms are already booked up between Tuesday, May 9 and Sunday, May 14.

Eagle-eyed Eurovision fans believe that Glasgow may have won the bid to become the 67th host city after an Olly Murs tour announcement.

The chart topping ‘Troublemaker’ announced a 2023 UK area tour on Friday for April and May next year – around the same predicted time as Eurovision.

He is set to play Glasgow’s OVO Hydro and Liverpool’s M&S Bank Arena, both venues which are in the running to host Eurovision.

Student Matthew Joyce wrote on Twitter: “Ok I think I’ve solved where is going to host Eurovision next year.

“It’s going to be Glasgow because: Olly Murs just announced a tour date for Liverpool on May 6. That wouldn’t be enough time to get the arena ready for Eurovision.

“That’s just a dead giveaway to me.”

He added: “Note that Glasgow’s show is April 21, enough time to get the arena ready if it’s in late May (I’d assume).

“If we assume it’s Glasgow, and to give enough time for the stage to be constructed and rehearsals, it’ll have to be May 23/25/27. Five weeks surely enough.”

Dutch violinist and conductor Andrew Rieu is currently set to play Glasgow on May 27, 2023 and was previously advertised on the OVO Hydro website, however the date has mysteriously disappeared from the venue’s ‘What’s On’ section in May 2023.

On Liverpool’s M&S Bank Arena website, both dates in May 2023 for Olly Murs and Andre Rieu are both still posted.

However, some Eurovision enthusiasts brushed off rumours that tour date announcements and events on websites were an indication of the winning city.

Speaking about the recently announced Olly Murs tour dates on Twitter, fan Adam Robinson said: “Any gig will have been booked long before the UK even had a glimmer of hosting Eurovision. I’d assume everyone will be told to go ahead as planned until further notice. I don’t think a tour schedule has confirmed Glasgow 2023.”

He added: “These will have been marked in the calendar for months. Both could require moving due to the date of Eurovision and need to do build up/tech rehearsals. And he would not release tour dates with no Liverpool or Glasgow date. They will just move either if needed.”