Cruise ship and campsites considered as Liverpool hotels sell out for Eurovision 2023
Liverpool is looking at alternative arrangements including a cruise ship and campsites for Eurovision fans who are struggling to book rooms in the city for the song contest.
Hotels have started selling out following the announcement that the city is to host Eurovision 2023.
The news was revealed by Graham Norton on the BBC's The One Show on Friday 7 October.
Within minutes of the announcement, many of Liverpool's hotels were fully booked on 13 May, including all of the city's Premier Inns and Travelodge hotels.
Some city centre rooms and apartments were available on Booking.com, with the cost of a one-night stay ranging between £855 and £1,444.
Liverpool City Council's Cabinet Member for Culture and Visitor Economy, Cllr Harry Doyle took to social media to ask people to be patient with hotel bookings.
He wrote: "I’m disappointed with some accomodation providers who have hiked prices.
"That’s normal apparently after the initial announcement.
"We had planned for this and are looking at alternative arrangements incl a cruise ship and camp sites."
The idea seemed popular with some fans.
One person wrote: "A campsite full of true Eurovision fans is a dream come true! How much fun could that be?"
But another said: "Camp sites and cruise ships afraid no way i can do that with my autistic kids."
Asked whether Liverpool would be able to cope with the influx of visitors, Cllr Doyle replied: "Absolutely! We're ready."
Many music lovers are expected to make their way to Liverpool to be a part of UK history. And the influx of visitors will need somewhere to stay.
Eurovision winner Ukraine cannot stage the competition due to the war, so the responsibility has fallen on the UK as the runners up.Liverpool had been whittled down to the final two potential host cities along with Glasgow, beating off competition from the likes of Manchester, Leeds and Birmingham earlier in the process.
This will be the first time that the Eurovision Song Contest has been held in the North West, despite the UK hosting the competition a record eight times.
In previous years the contest has taken place in Edinburgh, Brighton, Harrogate, Birmingham and four times in London.
The UK has also stepped in and hosted for the Netherlands, France, Monaco and Luxembourg in the 60s and 70s due to the winning countries' financial and capacity issues.
This year, however, will see the competition hosted in Liverpool, famed for its diverse musical heritage with the likes of the Beatles, Gerry and the Pacemakers and Frankie Goes to Hollywood.
Listen to ITV News' entertainment podcast, Unscripted: