The right choice. Liverpool will make the best of best hosts for the 67th Eurovision Song Contest[1]. Last night, Liverpool was chosen as the location of the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest.
Don’t get me wrong. Glasgow would have done an excellent job too. It was a difficult choice to make between the two front runners. On balance, Liverpool can offer the excitement Europe needs after what will be a gloomy winter.
In 2008, Liverpool woke everyone up with its year as European Capital of Culture[2].
Being a long-standing political activist, I’ve participated in party conferences up and down the country. It’s a fantastic way of getting to know the heart of a city. Yes, I know it’s a superficial exposure in terms of seeing conference venues, hotels, and shopping centres but even so, the sense of a place comes across.
Party conferences are held in locations across the UK, at conference and convention centres that offer big enough venues, in fact the whole package, hotels, public transport and a good atmosphere. I’ve conferenced: Blackpool, Birmingham, Bournemouth, Brighton, Cardiff, Eastbourne, Gateshead, Glasgow, Harrogate, Liverpool, Southport, Torquay and York in springtime and autumn.
One of the most enjoyable conferences in my back catalogue is Liverpool. It’s a city that surprises. It has cultural and historic depth. It’s that mix of the city’s strong sense of identity and the pivotal role it has played in our collective history.
I had a, not all too uncommon, southerners’ ignorance of Liverpool. That was quickly dispelled by being there and enjoying its welcoming invitation, even when it’s raining.
What could be better? Liverpool has been twinned with Odessa in Ukraine since 1957. Fittingly, the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest is to be a Ukrainian celebration in the UK.
Also, Liverpool has been twinned with the German city of Cologne for more than 50-years. That’s a European city that feels like a second home to me.
Congratulations Liverpool. It’s a massive #Eurovision to look forward too.
[1] https://eurovision.tv/story/liverpool-will-host-eurovision-2023
[2] https://www.cultureliverpool.co.uk/
John Vincent 