The Eurovision Song Contest announced that next year's festival will take place in either Glasgow or Liverpool.

As previously announced, the United Kingdom will host the Eurovision Song Contest in May 2023 instead of Ukraine, due to the ongoing war.

Last month, organizers revealed the seven shortlisted cities: Birmingham, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield.

In a statement, the BBC found that the seven cities had "the capacity, capability and experience for an event of this scale and complexity". Each of the cities will be required to meet several criteria, including a "suitable location and sufficient space" and in "alignment with the BBC's strategic priorities as a public service broadcaster", among other specific requirements. 

As of now, the Liverpool vs Glasgow race remains open, however pundits think that Liverpool have a better chance of being selected. The winner will be selected by the organizers of Eurovision and the BBC.

At Eurovision 2022, Ukraine, represented by the Kalush Orchestra group with the song "Stefania", received 192 points from the voting of the juries of different countries and was ranked after the United Kingdom, Sweden and Spain. But the votes of the public changed everything. 439 points for Ukraine put it in first place by a significant margin. 

The song "Stefania" is a kind of ode to the mother and combines classical and modern, Slavic lullabies and rap music.