The United Kingdom is announced as the host of next year’s Eurovision Song Contest in place of this year’s winners, Ukraine, due to the ongoing war in Ukraine. The UK, represented by Sam Ryder, finished in second place, behind Ukraine’s Kalush Orchestra, at this year’s competition. Ukraine will still automatically qualify for the grand final.
The Eurovision Song Contest 2023 is the upcoming 67th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It is set to take place in the United Kingdom, after Ukraine, winner of the 2022 contest with the song “Stefania” by Kalush Orchestra, was unable to meet the demands of hosting the event due to security concerns caused by the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) on behalf of the National Public Broadcasting Company of Ukraine (UA:PBC), the contest will consist of two semi-finals and a final in May 2023. This will be the record ninth time that the United Kingdom will host the contest, having last done so in Birmingham in 1998.
The UK will host the Eurovision Song Contest next year after organisers decided it could not be held in winning country Ukraine due to the ongoing war. Oleh Psiuk, the lead singer of 2022 winners Kalush Orchestra, expressed his gratitude to the UK for holding the event “in support of our country”. The UK, which has hosted Eurovision eight times, was chosen after Sam Ryder came second in this year’s contest. Several UK cities have already expressed interest in hosting.