The city of Liverpool in North West England welcomes the world this week as it hosts the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 – an annual pop music extravaganza which sees performers from all over Europe – and Australia – compete in front of a global TV audience of hundreds of millions.

Eurovision Song Contest 2023 © Corinne Cumming / EBU

Liverpool is hosting the contest on behalf of Ukraine, which won the contest last year. Usually, the winning country hosts the competition the following year, but Ukraine was unable to stage Eurovision 2023 because of the ongoing war. The United Kingdom were runners-up in 2022 and so it was decided that they would host the festival on Ukraine’s behalf.

Following a competitive bid process, Liverpool was chosen ahead of six other UK cities including Glasgow, Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester, Sheffield, and Newcastle.

The iconic Liver Building in Liverpool (credit Ant Clausen / Marketing Liverpool)

The Eurovision Song Contest is the world’s longest running international televised music festival and this will be the ninth time the UK has hosted the contest in its 67-year history. Some of the greatest international music stars began their careers in Eurovision including Celine Dion, Julio Iglesias, Olivia Newton-John and most famously of all, Swedish supergroup Abba.

In addition to the televised grand final on Saturday 13th May, this year’s Eurovision Song contest also includes two televised semi finals and six other live preview shows. The shows take place in the Liverpool Arena, on the banks of the River Mersey. In addition, the Eurovision Village – a dedicated hub for fans, locals and visitors to soak up the atmosphere – takes place at Pier Head on Liverpool Waterfront from Friday 5th to Sunday 13th May.

Museum of Liverpool and Anglican Cathedral (credit Ant Clausen / Marketing Liverpool)

As a UNESCO City of Music, Liverpool is recognised internationally for its pop music pedigree, and in particular the Merseybeat sound that conquered the world in the Fifties and Sixties. This legacy will be recognised when people all over the world will be invited to join in with the Beatles classic, With a Little Help from My Friends, at 12 noon UK time on 13th May as an expression of solidarity with Ukraine and in attempt to create the world’s biggest singalong.

A cultural festival - EuroFestival - is taking place at venues across Liverpool at the beginning of May which features numerous new commissions resulting from collaborations between UK and Ukrainian artists.

Liverpool’s Albert Dock (credit Ant Clausen / Marketing Liverpool)

Liverpool’s diverse musical heritage goes back hundreds of years thanks to the city’s development as one of the world’s most important ports. Known as the spiritual home of the sea shanty, Liverpool embraced musical influences and styles from all over the world and visitors to the city can enjoy jazz, rock or acoustic performances any night of the week. On top of its pop heritage, Liverpool is also home to one of the finest orchestras in Europe, The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, whose home is at the beautiful art deco Philharmonic Hall.

Liverpool Waterfront (credit Ant Clausen / Marketing Liverpool)

Eurovision Song Contest Executive Supervisor Martin Österdahl said: “Liverpool is the ideal place to host the 67th Eurovision Song Contest on behalf of Ukraine. The city is synonymous with music and Liverpool Arena exceeds all the requirements needed to stage a global event of this scale. We have been very impressed with the passion the city has shown in embracing the contest and their inclusive ideas for placing last year’s winners, Ukraine, front and centre when thousands of fans visit.”

If you or your group would like to enjoy a visit to the vibrant city of Liverpool on a tour of the United Kingdom, please do contact our friendly team today.