London has been snubbed from the shortlist of cities to host the Eurovision Song Contest in 2023.

Birmingham, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield are now in the running after demonstrating how they’ll reflect Ukrainian culture and communities.

Scott Mills announced the news during Zoe Ball’s BBC Radio 2 show on Friday, confirming the seven cities which will be competing for the bid. 

Mills suggested the final result will be confirmed in Autumn. 

The UK will be hosting Eurovision for the first time in 25 years after Ukraine was forced to handover the duties due to the ongoing Russian invasion. 

Sam Ryder secured second place for the United Kingdom and subsequently the runner-up nation will be staging the contest instead. 

The result comes after London mayor Sadiq Khan insisted London has ‘clearly got to be’ where Eurovision is held. 

Speaking to Evening Standard, he said: ‘I’m really excited Eurovision is coming to the UK and, actually, whether it’s in another part of the UK or London it’s really important that we do Ukraine proud.

‘It’s a fact, though, that the largest number of Ukrainians here live in London.

‘It’s also a fact that there are many Londoners of Ukrainian origin and this is going to be Eurovision hosted by Ukraine in another city in the UK. Clearly, it’s got to be London.’

The Eurovision Song Contest returns to BBC One in 2023. 

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