Eurovision fans rejoice... Eurovision 2023 is coming to Liverpool!
To the delight of all of us in the North, one of the largest musical extravaganzas in the world is taking place in the Liverpool M&S Bank Arena on Saturday 13th May on behalf of Ukraine. This is the first Eurovision Song Contest held in the UK for 25 years and the countdown is officially on for one of the biggest parties Liverpool has ever seen! Ukraine is at the heart of this year’s event as the people of Liverpool come together to celebrate the country’s modern cultural identity, as well as a moment of collective cultural resilience with Ukraine.
To celebrate this momentous occasion, we’re delving deep into the history of Eurovision, and how it has come to be the phenomena that we know and love today.
What is Eurovision? The Eurovision Song Contest is one of the longest running television broadcasts in the world since 1956, watched by over 200 million people worldwide. It was first brought together by the European Broadcasting Union to bring Europeans together after the trauma of World War II. When it first started just 7 countries participated, however this year artists from 37 countries will be performing.
Why is it so popular?
If Eurovision didn’t already exist, we’d never be able to invent it! It’s truly one of a kind with it’s over-the-top special effects, experiencing the continents finest cheesy music and famous witty commentary. All songs are original and all of the acts are competing for your attention, so they really bring their A-game to the stage! The rules are that songs must be original, no more than three minutes long, lead vocals must be performed live and no more than six performers can take to the stage during any one performance.
How does voting work?
After all songs have been performed, viewers can vote for their favourites via phone or through the Eurovision Song Contest official app. Don’t forget: out of fairness you can’t vote for your own country!
The results are then presented with every country video conferencing in, voting verbally and votes are assigned with points from 1-12. Half of the points come from professional juries and half come from audience votes, so bigger countries don’t get an unfair advantage.
Once the winner has been selected in the grand final, the song that has received the most points wins the iconic trophy and performs once more to close the show.
Can I buy tickets? Unfortunately tickets for this year’s Eurovision Song Contest have now all sold out, with tickets to the grand final on 13th May selling out in just 34 minutes!
You can still catch the show on BBC One, hosted by Graham Norton, Hannah Waddingham, Alesha Dixon and Ukrainian singer Julia Sanina.
While the city of Liverpool may have taken the hosting duties on board for this epic event, if you are planning to be in or around Southport during Eurovision, we invite you to stay with us at Waterfront Southport Hotel. We can’t promise that you won’t return home with a catchy Eurovision song in your head, but we can promise a relaxing stay away from the hustle and bustle of Liverpool!