The final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 will take place on May 13, 2023 in Liverpool, the homeland of the legendary The Beatles.
Initially, Eurovision 2023 was supposed to take place in Ukraine, since in 2022 the contest was won by the Ukrainian group Kalush Orchestra.
In June, the European Broadcasting Union announced that due to hostilities, the competition could not be held in any of the Ukrainian cities. Therefore, the right to host Eurovision was transferred to the UK, as British artist Sam Ryder took second place at the 2022 contest.
“It is symbolic that Eurovision 2023 will be held in Liverpool, Odessa’s sister city,†commented Nikolay Chernotitsky, head of the board of the Ukrainian company UA: PBC, which was supposed to prepare the show, commented on the choice of the winner.
We want to put on a show that Ukraine would be proud of, and we have been working closely with Liverpool’s sister city of Odessa to ensure that this is their event as much as our own.
Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region
Earlier it was reported that the organizers plan to use elements of the Ukrainian style in the show, and the participant from Ukraine will automatically go to the final - as envisaged by the rights of the Eurovision host country.
The Eurovision Song Contest has been held since 1956. The UK will host it for the ninth time. The country became the organizer of "Eurovision" more often than other participants.
The winner of Eurovision 2022 was the Ukrainian band Kalush Orchestra with the song "Stefania". British representative Sam Ryder took second place with the song Space Man. Russia was excluded from participation in the competition due to the invasion of Ukraine.
Following the announcement that Liverpool will host the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 on behalf of Ukraine, the Mayor of Odessa has sent his congratulations to the people of the city:
Dear Liverpudlians,
It is a matter of great pleasure to know that the bid of Liverpool, our sister city, to host the Eurovision Contest in 2023 is successful! Next year all musical roads of Europe will lead to your city, and we are happy that not only Eurovision contest will decorate Liverpool, but the city itself will adorn the event too. All of Odessa is looking forward to literally hearing from you!
Gennadiy Trukhanov, Mayor of Odessa
