Eurovision: The three main reasons why Sheffield should host song contest next year

The BBC announced on Monday that the UK would host the Eurovision song contest on behalf of Ukraine in 2023 after the country won the 66th competition this year.

With war-torn Ukraine unable to hold the event, the UK was invited to host the song contest in front of a global audience instead, with several cities now bidding for the right.

A statement from the BBC reads: “It is a matter of great regret that our colleagues and friends in Ukraine are not able to host the 2023 Eurovision song contest.

“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 BBC will now begin the process to find a host city to partner with us on delivering one of the most exciting events to come to the UK in 2023.”

There has been a campaign for Sheffield to host the event since June, when Councillor Ben Miskell tweeted: “Hello Europe. This is Sheffield calling. In solidarity with our twinned city of Donetsk we stand ready to host #Eurovision.

“With a 13k+ capacity arena, international airport and the friendliest people on earth, Sheffield and South Yorkshire is a natural choice for @bbceurovision.”

As cities all around the UK get their bids and campaigns underway to host the Eurovision song contest next year, here are three reasons why Sheffield should be the city of choice to host the international song contest.

Sheffield is twinned with the Ukrainian city, Donetsk:

With the 2023 Eurovision being hosted on Ukraine’s behalf, whichever city hosts the event should reflect Ukrainian culture.

As a twin town with Donetsk, a major Ukrainian city, Sheffield is the perfect city to do this.

Becoming twinned in 1956, Sheffield and Donetsk have a long history together where both cities exchanged official greetings and regular visits between the two cities were arranged.

In 1981, Sheffield renamed a road in Donetsk’s honour, Donetsk way, and in return Donetsk named a public square after Sheffield – Sheffield Square.

The last official visit between the cities was in 1988 and after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, official links began to fade.

Sheffield has the perfect venue to host the contest – Utilita Arena Sheffield:

With a maximum capacity of 13,600, Sheffield’s Utilita arena has the size and facilities required to be the perfect host venue for the Eurovision song contest.

The arena has a large car park, modern facilities and is a regular host of large sports and musical events.

Located on Broughton Lane, the arena is easily accessible from Sheffield city centre with just one short tram journey and is also surrounded by more venues and entertainment spaces such as Centertainment and Meadowhall.

If Sheffield was to be selected as the host city, it has the perfect venue in all of size, accessibility, location and facilities to host such a large international contest.

Sheffield’s has a vibrant and popular music scene:

Being the host city of the Eurovision song contest, the city should be able to reflect the music values of the most popular song contest in the world.

Tramlines, which finished on Sunday July 24, is an annual music festival and is one of the largest and most popular in the UK.

With acts such as Sam Ryder performing at the festival, Sheffield’s Tramlines music festival is the perfect example of the music scene in Sheffield which continues to grow.

Sam represented the UK in Eurovision earlier this year.

In addition to Tramlines, Sheffield has other music venues, most notoriously the Leadmill, a renowned live music venue and nightclub. Over the years, Leadmill has seen Oasis, The Killers, Pulp, Coldplay and George Ezra perform at the live music venue.

With a wide range of famous bands from the steel city, such as Pulp, Arctic Monkeys, Def Leppard and Reverend and the Makers, Sheffield has the vibrant music scene needed to host Eurovision.