Eurovision fans face shelling out up to £8,000 on accommodation in Liverpool as hotels cancel bookings to take advantage of soaring demand.
Hotels in Liverpool have cancelled bookings and hiked prices up as thousands of people scour for rooms after the city was announced as the 2023 host of the Eurovision Song Content.
The host city was announced on Friday evening and by Saturday morning hotels were already selling out, with some accommodation advertised for more than £5,000 a night.
Liverpool’s M&S Bank Arena will host three live Eurovision Song Contestant events that culminate in a four-hour grand final next year - with Graham Norton announcing on The One Show that the main contest will take place on May 13, 2023.
Liverpool may have come out on top, but hundreds of hotels have already sold out and ones with rooms available are at an extortionate prices for Eurovision fans.
At the time of writing, accommodation for two adults for one night on May 13 - the night of the grand final - on Booking.com resulted in four recommendations.
One three-bedroom property AirBnB in Anfield, which is usually listed for £900 a night, has been advertised for £7,993 a night during Eurovision.
Buzz O’Neill-Maxwell, an events manager, booked rooms at the final two candidate cities vying to be named as host - Liverpool and Glasgow - before the announcement was made.
However, when Liverpool was confirmed, he received a message saying his booking in the city had been cancelled. He told the Times: "Total chancers. Prices now are insane."
The cheapest would come at a cost of £1,999 at Dream Apartments Dale Street, Fox Street Studios will be £2,500, Kove Central apartments priced at £2,850 and Eleanor Rigby apartments on Stanley Street proved to be the most expensive accommodation at £5,580.
For fans happy to stay further afield prices are cheaper, however, a five-star hotel in Chester - The Chester Grosvenor - will still set fans back £558.
It's estimated the Eurovision Song Contest could give a £30 million boost to Liverpool's economy.
Ukraine's Kalush Orchestra were crowned champions of the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest in Turin, Italy earlier this year, with their winning song Stefania narrowly beating UK entry Sam Ryder with Space Man.
Although the winning nation usually hosts the following year's contest, in the midst of their victory it was quickly decided due to the war with Russia, runners-up Britain would take over their duties.
Claire McColgan, director of Culture Liverpool, said she was "shattered but delighted" on Saturday after the city was announced as the host on BBC's The One Show on Friday night.
Asked what people could expect to see in the city when the contest is held, she said: "Glitter! There'll be sparkles.
"It will be covered in sequins and glitter."She said as well as the shows in the arena, the contest would see a programme of events for communities across the city linked to Ukraine.
The Eurovision Song Contest is one of the most watched programme across the continent as 161 million watched the 2022 edition, according the event's official website. The UK brought in the largest audience across all markets - on TV and online - with 8.9 million viewers watching the grand final.
