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This year’s contest, which was staged in Turin, was won by Ukraine’s Kalush Orchestra, but currently with no clear end to the country’s war with Russia in sight, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) had been looking at ways, since last month, of staging the 2023 contest in another country.
With fans eager to work out quite where the contest might be held, there are now rumours swirling around, that the BBC has picked up the baton and will host the 2023 event.
If rumours are correct, there are already some precedents for the country which comes runner-up to host and the UK, which finished second, with Sam Ryder’s song Space Man is in pole position if Ukraine drop out.
Mag North understands that the main contenders to Manchester would be Cardiff and Glasgow but London can never be ruled out. Or Selby.
The Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce has now added to the growing voices pointing out the benefits of the event being staged in the city; after last month's call from the Federation of Small Business (FSB)spokesman Robert Downes, who said: “Let’s make this happen!”
Chris Fletcher, the chamber’s policy and campaigns director said: “Obviously, whilst nothing is confirmed as yet, the hosting of Eurovision would be a tremendous boost not just for Greater Manchester but the whole country.
“There is a long history and a lot of experience about hosting large scale events and there is also a huge cultural heritage around the city and the Eurovision Song Contest ticks all the boxes.
“Any large event like this obviously brings with it an economic boost, both with direct spend around tourism but there are also longer lasting impacts as more people become aware of what Greater Manchester has to offer and they may look at future investment opportunities.
“Whilst everyone wishes and hopes that Ukraine are in a position to host the event next year obviously, practically, this may not be the case and if that turns out to be the case, then Greater Manchester offers a more than suitable alternative.”
The office of the Mayor for Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, said: We’re unable to provide a comment at this stage, but please get in touch when the host country has been confirmed."
The EBU referred us back to a statement it issued after last month's event which stated it had a number of challenges to overcome before commenting further.
We have requested a statement from the BBC.
A BBC spokesperson said: "We will not be commenting on this."
IMAGE CREDIT: Pete Devine
The annual OGAE Eurovision Bash held in central Manchester in 2016 - from left to right - the UK entrant for that year Joe and Jake, Finland's Krista Siegfrids, and broadcaster and Eurovision fan Paddy O'Connell