The shortlist of the seven UK cities in the running to host the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 has been announced – check it out below.

The UK’s entry Sam Ryder came in at second place to Ukraine’s Kalush Orchestra in this year’s competition, scoring an impressive 466 points overall with his song ‘Space Man’.

• READ MORE: Sam Ryder on his debut album and life after Eurovision: “Who knows what will happen next?”

It was subsequently confirmed that the BBC would host next year’s event in the United Kingdom on behalf of Ukraine due to the ongoing war in the latter country. Since then, numerous cities have made bids to stage the contest.

This morning (August 12), a shortlist of seven potential cities was revealed simultaneously on BBC Radio 2 and BBC One by Scott Mills and Zoe Ball.

The possible Eurovision 2023 locations are as follows: Birmingham, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield.

You can see the announcement post below.

? It's OFFICIAL. Seven UK cities – Birmingham, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield – are on the shortlist to host the #Eurovision Song Contest 2023 ?
Read more ➡️ https://t.co/X5EQdRZA2k pic.twitter.com/qkLUiSjwPX

— BBC Press Office (@bbcpress) August 12, 2022

Kate Phillips, the BBC’s Director of Unscripted Content, said: “We would like to thank all of the cities and regions that submitted bids to host next year’s Eurovision Song Contest. We have seven fantastic cities who we are taking through to the next round.

“Congratulations to Birmingham, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield – it’s exciting to see such a breadth of bids going through from across the UK. We are committed to delivering a truly unique Song Contest that celebrates wonderful Ukraine and champions British music and creativity in all its diversity.”

The hopeful cities were selected having met certain criteria to host Eurovision, such as being within easy reach of an international airport and having enough hotel accommodation to hold at least 2,000 delegates, journalists and spectators.

Per the BBC, the selection process was heavily weighted towards the cities proving past experience in hosting major international events, as well as being able to demonstrate their ability to stage a celebration of contemporary music.

The seven shortlisted cities will now enter a second and final stage in the process, through which they’ll be asked to provide further details on their plans.

A winner will be chosen by the BBC in conjunction with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), and the successful city will be announced in the autumn.

The UK has hosted the Eurovision Song Contest eight times previously: London (1960, 1963, 1968 and 1977), Edinburgh (1972), Brighton (1974), Harrogate (1982) and Birmingham (1998).

Meanwhile, it’s been confirmed that the 2023 host city will be forced to cancel a number of other scheduled events at its chosen venue in order to make room for next year’s annual song competition.