Eurovision could be coming to the North East next year after Newcastle made the shortlist to host the 2023 contest, despite Darlington missing out.
The seven shortlisted locations were announced on Friday (August 12) morning with Newcastle still in the running alongside Birmingham, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester and Sheffield.
Darlington missed out on the shortlist after announcing a last-minute bid earlier this week.
Read more: Eurovision 2023: Shortlist for UK host cities announced
The world-famous contest is set to take place in the UK next year after Ukraine was declared unable to host it due to the ongoing conflict with Russia.
Now the seven shortlisted cities will go through to the second bidding stage where they will be asked to develop their plans in more detail ahead of a decision being made in the Autumn.
Ian Thomas, Destination Director at the NewcastleGateshead Initiative which has put the bid together on behalf of Newcastle City Council, said: “We are incredibly excited to be shortlisted to host the Eurovision Song Contest next year.
“As a region with collaborative and passionate people at its heart, we are already working with partners across all sectors to ensure we are able to deliver an exceptional event that celebrates Ukraine and its culture to its absolute best.
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“Newcastle is a gateway to the rest of the UK, with an international airport, sea port, national rail links and excellent local transport. Along with our vast range of hotels, accommodation and hospitality offer, not to mention the famous Geordie welcome, the city is the perfect host destination.
“We’re ready to make Eurovision 2023 part of our collective, cultural history and create even stronger ties with our friends in Ukraine.”
Geordie Eurovision expert and host of the ‘The Euro Trip’ podcast James Rowe told The Northern Echo he believes Newcastle has a good chance of being named host.
He said: “It’s a massive event to host and takes a lot of planning. The winners normally get a welcome pack the day after their win to start planning for the next year.
“We have the capacity to host such large events and have experience of doing so not just at the arena but with concerts at St James Park and major sporting events like rugby league and union weekends.
Read more: Watch how Darlington Arena was going to host Eurovision 2023 if it won
“I think the decision not to include London in the shortlist was a conscious one. The BBC are looking for the best city to host the contest - somewhere that has the capacity, space, and will be able to reflect Ukrainian music in the show.
“Now it’s down to the cities to prove that they can meet each of those criteria.”
“I’ve travelled to Eurovision a couple of times and would love to see it come to my home town.”
Newcastle’s Utilita Arena is the planned venue for the show, with a capacity of 11,000 and just one event currently planned at the end of April ahead of the contest in May.
To host the contest venues need to be able to hold at least 10,000 spectators, have a press centre for 1,500 journalists, hotel accommodation for 2,000 people and be in reach of an international airport.
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Darlington lost out on its bid to host the competition, having unexpectedly thrown its hat into the ring this week.
Reacting to the news this morning, Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen said: “As I always say, you’ve got to be in it to win it and given our bid cost a grand total of £0 we have made it clear that Teesside, Darlington, and Hartlepool stands ready to host global events.”
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