The Eurovision Song Contest is an event that brings people together through music, but every year the contest is also a very culture-oriented event, and the upcoming contest in Liverpool (UK) is no exception. Today it became known that the organization “Culture Liverpool” will organize a cultural festival next year; this festival will entail a series of events, but also seperate art installations through the city of Liverpool. The festival will cover three distinct themes:
- UK x Ukraine
- Music United
- Eurovision in Liverpool
UK x Ukraine
The commissions that are given to this theme will bring Ukrainian and British artists closer together, and by doing so they will collaborate on creating all sorts of new projects that will revolve around the story of modern Ukrainian culture. Both British and Ukrainian artists can come from different types of art disciplines, but it is also good to mention that the Culture Liverpool organization is mostly interested in large scale outdoor pieces and installations. There will be pairings, so it is like a “buddy” project, during which both Ukrainian artists will work together with a British artist. The commissions of this theme will be awarded by the Ukrainian Institute and the British Council.
Music United
This theme is a celebration of the power that music unleashes, but also about how music brings people together. This theme will make people gather without any boundaries, like age differences or social backgrounds. For this theme multiple disciplines can apply, because they are all welcome. Good to know is that the applicants do not necessarily have to be performance-based.
Eurovision in Liverpool
This theme will celebrate diversity, joy, opinions, and how cool the city of Liverpool really is. The theme also focuses on the extensive history, present, but also the future of the Eurovision Song Contest.
The funding of the projects
Regarding the funding of the projects the Culture Liverpool organization differentiates projects in 2 different types, which are: large-scale (up to £125,000) and medium-scale (up to £25,000). Below you can find what the difference is between the two.
Medium-scale, up to £25,000
The projects within this range can cover multiple of the themes above. Because of the quite short timeline to apply there are no expectations yet when it comes down to how the project will look specifically.
Large-scale, up to £125,000
Most large-scale projects will be coming from the UK x Ukraine theme. These projects need a clear project statement and great partnering between an artist or producer from both Liverpool as Ukraine. Next to this, both participants need to be ready to start work in January 2023. The teams need to provide in everything that they need to develop their project themselves, also when it comes down to travel and visa costs, and they can use the granted commission to do so.
Side-note
Not only artists from Ukraine and Liverpool can apply to be in one of the themes, Culture Liverpool states, but they can also be situated in countries that participate in the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest.
Source: Cultural Liverpool, https://www.cultureliverpool.co.uk/eurovision-cultural-commissions/