With UK cities jostling for the chance to host the Eurovision Song Contest, Aberdeen residents are keen to champion what the north-east has to offer.
Following the announcement in June that the UK could be a possible host for the popular contest, Aberdeen fans were ready to sing the city’s praises.
However, after Aberdeen City Council confirmed its interest in bringing the popular contest to the north-east, hosting it at The P&J Live is becoming a tangible possibility.
While there is a bidding process in place, many in Aberdeen remain confident that the city’s time in the spotlight is coming.
At The Press and Journal and Evening Express we are keen to hear what locals really think about Aberdeen has to offer Eurovision. Make sure you have your say in the comments below so we can make the case to the BBC!
Bringing people together for Eurovision in Aberdeen
Deeside resident and avid Eurovision fan, Rebecca Catto said it would be a “really positive thing” for the city.
She said: “After all the Europe and UK things, it’s nice to have us all together and actually be friends for a change instead of arguing all the time.
“I love the Eurovision Song Contest and I watch it every year.
“Sometimes it’s nice to get to sit down and watch a nice little bit of singing and forget about some of the troubles that are maybe going on.
“I just think music is quite a good way of breaking language barriers because everybody can love music and feel music.
When asked whether Aberdeen stood a chance in the running to host the event, the 34-year-old added: “I don’t see why not. I think we’re quite a welcoming city I would say and I think Aberdeen is quite a nice place to be.
“It would be nice to see Aberdeen stand out again.”
Eurovision bring a ‘month of fun’
Leslie Douglas and Alec Mathieson, who were visiting from Fife said people only needed to visit Aberdeen to see the benefits, and said “Oh aye, definitely.”
Ms Douglas said: “This is my first visit to Aberdeen and I think anybody who comes up here for the Eurovision would love it.
“It would bring a lot of money and it’s just a good feeling.
“Aberdeen’s got so much culture and so much to offer. If it’s got to come to Great Britain, bring it to Aberdeen please.”
Hannah Baigrie and Dhara Shah said although the contest could be an “acquired taste”, it would really bring the fun factor to Aberdeen.
Ms Baigrie, 24, said: “It would be really exciting, it would be a great opportunity for Aberdeen as well and having The P&J used for something other than graduations would be great.
“I’ve always watched it since I was a little kid with my dad so it would be great to be able to see it in Aberdeen with him.
“It would be a month long of fun – if not longer.”
‘Something to look forward to in Aberdeen’
Even those who are not the biggest fans of the contest and watch it more for the “Oh my goodness what’s going on factor”, said it would be great news for Aberdeen.
Rebecca, from Woodside, said: “I think it would be really good for the area. We’ve got the venue, we’ve got the infrastructure so why not?”
While Aberdeen is seen as one of Scotland’s smaller cities, Asra Hurmat said it would be a wonderful opportunity: “There’s a lot of people here and they just want that kind of entertainment. Especially in a small city, it would be a big fun event for them.”
A couple of Aberdeen residents said that it would add to the growing number of interesting events being held in the city.
Serhii Kocherhan said: “Aberdeen is a good candidate to host Eurovision and it would be very exciting to hold this event here.
“Aberdeen is a very nice city. It has a very positive atmosphere here and every day is different. You can find a lot of stuff here. The city is developing and evolving over time and has different events.”
Duncan Lilburn, 23, said while he did not feel strongly about Eurovision, hosting it would be “quite big” for Aberdeen.
“I think it’s definitely something interesting and something to look forward to,” he added.
“There’s a lot that’s been going on over the last couple of years and there seems to be a lot more happening in the city in general really.”
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