Could UK Eurovision Song Contest 2023 be held in Birmingham, Nottingham or Wolverhampton?
Birmingham will put in a bid to host the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest, the leader of the City Council revealed to ITV Central, as bidding officially gets underway this week.
Councillor Ian Ward said Birmingham - which is currently hosting the Commonwealth games this week - would make an application to be the host city.
Nottingham and Wolverhampton are the only other Midland cities so far who have expressed interest.
It comes as Ukrainian entry, Kalush Orchestra won the competition in Turin, Italy, earlier this year. It is traditional that the winning country hosts the event the following year.
However, organisers of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) decided the event could not be held in Ukraine due to the on-going conflict.
It was therefore announced that a UK city would instead host the 67th Eurovision Song Contest on their behalf, after British contender, Sam Ryder came second in the competition.
Bidding is expected to be competitive, with several cities across the UK having already announced their bid. This includes: Sheffield, Bristol, London, Manchester, Brighton, Liverpool, Cardiff and Leeds.
Not all of these locations will formally apply, with official applications expected to begin now. The long list of applicant cities will be published later in Summer.
Where has the Eurovision Song Contest previously been held in the UK?
The UK has hosted the event on eight previous occasions. This will be the 9th time hosting the Eurovision contest.
It has only been hosted once before in Birmingham in 1998, at the Barclaycard Arena.
However, it has been held in London four times - in 1960, 1963, 1968, and 1977.
It has also taken place in Edinburgh in 1972, Brighton in 1974 and Harrogate in 1982.
The UK first participated in the competition in 1957 and has gone on to claim first place five times.
It has also stepped in to act as host for winning countries that do not have the financial or logistical means to put on the competition.
What are the requirements to host the Eurovision Song Contest?
The bidding process to select the host city will be jointly managed by the BBC and EBU.
The winner would require a large events space for a period of six weeks, suitable accommodation and international transport links for the competing countries and their delegations.
Simon Bennett, Eurovision fan club president, said: "It is the number one live music event anywhere in the world.
"Any city that takes it on stands to make a lot of money from the number of visitors, and the publicity is amazing."
In a statement, a Nottingham City Council spokesperson said:
“Nottingham has great credentials to host a prestigious and internationally popular show like the Eurovision Song Contest.
With a world class Arena that hosts entertainment superstars and international sporting events, Nottingham’s infrastructure of hotels, restaurants and bars is geared to welcoming fans from all over the world to our great city.
“The city is perfect for visitors with plenty of things to see and do, is compact with a superb green travel network and has great transport links for national and international visitors.
It would be a fantastic honour and boost for the city, placing Nottingham on the world stage as the televised broadcast reaches over 180 million viewers.
“We look forward to the publication of the detailed bidding criteria and process to then consider whether we will be able to formally apply to be the host city.”
What are organisers saying?
BBC Director-General's Tim Davie shed some light on where the Contest will be hosted, saying: "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."
Mykola Chernotytskyi, Head of the Managing Board of UA (Ukraine's public broadcaster) 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."
The host city for next year's Eurovision Song Contest will be officially announced in the coming months.