Belgian capital Brussels may be preparing a bid to host the Eurovision Song Contest. British newspaper The Guardian suggests that the European Union are looking at a joint bid to counter the UK bids. They would be doing so in solidarity with Ukraine.
A bid from the European Union?
The Guardian mention the possibility of a bid from the entire European Union in their article regarding the EBU statement, in which the governing body of the Eurovision Song Contest announced that Ukraine will not host the contest in 2023. In there, it’s a small paragraph which suggests that sources close to the discussions think it’s far from a done deal that Eurovision will travel to the United Kingdom.
Those unnamed sources suggest that the European Union might be looking at a symbol of solidarity to Ukraine, by offering Brussels as the next host city. Brussels would get the honour as the symbolic capital of the EU. Just yesterday, Ukraine received support from several EU member states in their process of becoming a member. President Zelenskyy is aiming to make his country a member of the EU as soon as possible.
The Belgian city of Brussels has hosted the Eurovision Song Contest once before, in 1987 following Sandra Kim’s victory in Norway. Brussels could offer two potential venues. The first is the Forest National venue in Forest, a suburb of Brussels, with a capacity of 8,400 people. Secondly, they’ve got Paleis 12, which can hold up to 15,000 people. The latter would therefore be the most logical location in Brussels.
How likely is a Brussels bid?
It is interesting that The Guardian mention such a scenario being possible. No other media have yet reported on the UK being challenged for hosting rights. The sign of solidarity from the European Union by denying the United Kingdom hosting rights, does seem a little odd. Neither the EBU, nor the EU or Belgian government themselves, have yet commented on the suggestion by the UK newspaper.
For now, it seems more than likely that Eurovision will travel to the United Kingdom for the first time since 1998. Back then, Birmingham claimed hosting rights. Now, we see many UK cities vying for the right to bring the contest there. No less than thirteen cities have currently expressed an interest, with all four countries (Northern Ireland, Wales, Scotland and England) being in the mix.
What do you think: Are The Guardian onto something by suggesting a rival bid from the European Union? Or is it complete nonsense? Let us know by leaving a comment below! Be sure to stay updated by following @ESCXTRA on Twitter, @escxtra on Instagram, @escxtra on TikTok and liking our Facebook page for the latest updates! Also, be sure to follow us on Spotify for the latest music from your favourite ESC and JESC acts.
The Guardian is an anti British paper, happy to cheer on anything that could be seen as a sleight to Britain, whether it\’s real or not.
They never let the truth get in the way of a good story.
The Guardian is a left-wing and anti-Establishment party certainly but there is nothing to suggest that it is anti-British. Indeed one of the hallmarks of a thriving democracy is the need for an organ which is free to criticize what ever government is in place, and frankly there is a lot to criticize the current government for. If you got rid of the Guardian but had only the Mail and the Express, it would be Union Jack bunting every day of the week but it would be of absolutely no service to the UK. As for never letting the truth stop a good story, open either of those papers any day of the week and you will see exactly that, it is extremely rare in the Guardian. They are both of course specialists in Brexit fake news. In fact Wikipedia prohibits the use of the Mail as a source since it so unreliable. The French site Courrier International on the other hand calls the Guardian \”one of Britain\’s most internationally respected papers and the newspaper of reference for the British intelligentsia\”, and congratulates it on its renowned quality and independence. Even the BBC is now afraid to critique the Johnson government, organising the Eurovision should be just about within its competence, providing of course that people don\’t think that you voted to leave Eurovision, like the Council of Europe and the European Court of Human Rights, instead of just the European Union.