Decision details

The Council resolved:-

(i)             to note the announcement of the Eurovision Broadcasting Union that the organisation was considering the United Kingdom as the host of Eurovision 2023 should Ukraine be unable to host the competition due to the unacceptable Russian aggression against Ukraine;

(ii)           to note the awarding decision would be made by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) should Ukraine be unable to host the competition;

(iii)          to agree The Event Complex Aberdeen opened in 2019 was the largest capacity venue in Scotland and was well suited to host the event;

(iv)          to note Aberdeen’s success in hosting previous significant cultural events such as the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Awards;

(v)           to note the significant interest shown by politicians of all political parties in hosting this event in Scotland, agreeing that Aberdeen was without doubt the best place to hold such a European event given Aberdeen remained the Energy Capital of Europe;

(vi)          to agree that the Chief Officer - City Growth continue discussions with the relevant venue operator and government agencies; and

(vii)        to agree that if the opportunity to respond to tender for hosting Eurovision arose, to instruct the Chief Officer - City Growth to report back to the next appropriate committee or request a meeting of the Urgent Business Committee setting out the implications for Council.