Where is going to be Eurovision 2023?

Kalush Orchestra from Ukraine perform during the Eurovision Song Contest in Turin, Italy, on May 14. The 2023 Eurovision Song Contest will be staged in the English city of Liverpool after Britain was asked to hold the event on behalf of Ukraine. Luca Bruno/AP hide caption

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Luca Bruno/AP

Kalush Orchestra from Ukraine perform during the Eurovision Song Contest in Turin, Italy, on May 14. The 2023 Eurovision Song Contest will be staged in the English city of Liverpool after Britain was asked to hold the event on behalf of Ukraine.

Luca Bruno/AP

LONDON — The 2023 Eurovision Song Contest will be staged in the English city of Liverpool, the BBC said Friday, after Britain was asked to hold the event on behalf of designated host country Ukraine.

The birthplace of The Beatles beat Glasgow, Scotland, the other U.K. finalist. In all, seven British cities had applied to hold the pan-continental music competition. The 2023 Eurovision final will be held on May 13.

Ukraine won the right to host the pop extravaganza when its entry, folk-rap ensemble Kalush Orchestra, won this year's contest. Britain's Sam Ryder came second.

Organizers concluded it was too risky to stage the event in Ukraine, so the 2023 contest went to Britain, which says the event will be a celebration of Ukrainian culture and creativity.

BBC Director-General Tim Davie said Liverpool, "the undisputed capital of pop music," would be "an amazing host." British Prime Minister Liz Truss said on Twitter that "Liverpool will put on an unforgettable show which celebrates the rich culture and creativity of Ukraine."

Kalush Orchestra said it was pleased with the choice.

"Playing in the same place that The Beatles started out will be a moment we'll never forget!" the band said. "Although we are sad that next year's competition cannot take place in our homeland, we know that the people of Liverpool will be warm hosts and the organizers will be able to add a real Ukrainian flavor to Eurovision 2023 in this city."

Founded in 1956 to help unite a continent scarred by World War II, Eurovision has grown to include more than 40 countries, including non-European nations such as Israel and Australia.

Organizers strive to keep pop and politics apart — banning overtly political symbols and lyrics — but global tensions have often imposed themselves on the contest. Russia was kicked out of this year's competition because of its invasion of Ukraine.

Liverpool and Glasgow are the two cities that remain in the competition to host the Eurovision song contest in 2023, when it will be held in the UK for the first time in 25 years.

The two cities were selected after Birmingham, Leeds, Newcastle, Sheffield and Manchester were removed from contention to host the music event. The BBC said a final decision would be made “within weeks”.

The Ukrainian group Kalush Orchestra triumphed at the 2022 competition in Turin, Italy, which would normally make Ukraine the 2023 host, but the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which produces the event, decided the next contest could not be held safely in Ukraine due to Russia’s invasion.

Phil Harrold, the chair of the BBC’s host city selection committee, paid tribute to the seven shortlisted cities in what he said had been a highly competitive field.

“The Eurovision song contest is a very complex event and Liverpool and Glasgow have the strongest overall offer; we will continue our discussions with them to determine the eventual host city,” he said. “We are determined to make the 2023 Eurovision song contest one that both reflects the winning position of Ukraine and is also an event that all of the UK can participate in.”

Instead the UK, which came second with Sam Ryder’s song Space Man, was asked to host the 67th Eurovision.

Twenty venues put in bids to host the largest and most complex music competition in the world, watched this year by a global audience of 161 million.

In August, a list narrowed down from 20 UK cities which had submitted an “expression of interest” was released by the BBC, with applicants across all four regions demonstrating how they would reflect Ukrainian culture, music and communities.

Of the seven cities named in August, six were in England and one in Scotland, with Belfast failing to make the cut for Northern Ireland.

Requirements included “a suitable venue and sufficient space to deliver the requirements of the song contest”, necessary commitment to the contest including a financial contribution, and “alignment with the BBC’s strategic priorities as a public service broadcaster”.

Liverpool, which has been a Unesco City of Music since 2015, is synonymous with the Beatles and has a rich music heritage. In 2008, the city hosted the MTV Europe Music Awards and it is also home to the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.

“Absolutely delighted #Liverpool has made the final two for the #Eurovision2023 shortlist,” the mayor of Liverpool, Joanne Anderson, tweeted on Tuesday. “Nowhere throws a party quite like us. The people, communities & businesses of our city are ready to put on a show – for Ukraine, the UK & for Europe. Eurovision in Liverpool. Imagine.”

Meanwhile, Scotland’s first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, voiced her support for Glasgow to host the event in June, with the city’s OVO Hydro arena, which features in the Netflix film Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, rumoured to be a favoured UK location to host the contest.

The Scottish singer Lulu represented Britain at the Eurovision song contest in 1969 with Boom Bang-A-Bang. She was the joint winner that year as she shared the prize with France, Netherlands and Spain with 18 points apiece.

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