UK to host the next Eurovision contest on behalf of Ukraine

London: Due to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest will be hosted by the UK on behalf of this year's winning country Ukraine.

Ukrainian band Kalush Orchestra won the 2022 contest and UK's Sam Ryder came in second. It is customary for the winning country to host the next year's contest. The British city that hosts the contest will be chosen in the next few months following a bidding process that will be launched this week.

The date of the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest will be announced soon. And the host city will be chosen by the fall.

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) in a statement said that the next year's event regrettably could not be held in Ukraine for safety and security reasons. "The EBU explored a number of options with the winning broadcaster. As a result of discussions, the BBC, as runner up in the 2022 Contest, was invited by the EBU to act as Host Broadcaster for the 67th Eurovision Song Contest."

The BBC will also manage the bidding with the EBU. The two semi-finals and grand finale will be produced by BBC Studios, which was already commissioned to produce Eurovision 2023 coverage, even before the UK was chosen to host the next event.

The BBC has staged the Eurovision Song Contest more times than any other broadcaster, hosting in London in 1960, 1963, 1968, and 1977, Edinburgh in 1972, Brighton in 1974, Harrogate in 1982, and Birmingham in 1998.

Director general of BBC Tim Davie said that it is a matter of great regret that our colleagues and friends in Ukraine are not able to host the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest.

He added that being asked to host the largest and most complex music competition in the world is a great privilege. "The BBC is committed to making the event a true reflection of Ukrainian culture alongside showcasing the diversity of British music and creativity."

The Eurovision Song Contest's executive supervisor Martin Osterdahl said they are exceptionally grateful that the BBC has accepted to stage the next contest. "The BBC has taken on hosting duties for other winning countries on four previous occasions."

"Continuing in this tradition of solidarity, we know that next year's contest will showcase the creativity and skill of one of Europe's most experienced public broadcasters whilst ensuring this year's winners, Ukraine, are celebrated and represented throughout the event," he added.

Head of the managing board of UA:PBC, the National Public Broadcasting Company of Ukraine, Mykola Chernotytskyi said the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest will not be in Ukraine but in support of Ukraine.

"We are grateful to our BBC partners for showing solidarity with us. I am confident that together we will be able to add Ukrainian spirit to this event and once again unite the whole of Europe around our common values of peace, support, celebrating diversity and talent," he added.

Representatives of the Ukrainian broadcaster will be working with the BBC to develop and implement the Ukrainian elements.