Yesterday, April 20th 2023, the BBC disclosed details about the live shows of the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 in Liverpool, United Kingdom.
Turquoise carpet
Ukrainian Timur Myroshnychenko will discuss all hightlights of this annual Eurovision event, and Swedish 2016 winner, Måns Zelmerlöw, and Portuguese presenter Filomena Cautela, who was also a presenter during the contest of 2016 when Portugal was the host, will comment on the event based on their knowledge of the contest.
Semi-final 1
The first Semi-final will open with a video of a young boy from Liverpool that travels across his home-town to tell his family, friends, neighbours, and some special guests that the contest will be in Liverpool.
Ukrainian Julia Sanina will perform the song “Mayak” by the band, The Hardkiss, in which Julia is one of the main singers. This performance symbolizes how the United Kingdom and Ukraine are “united by music”, this year’s slogan. The song of Julia is also about that the United Kingdom hosts the shows this year in the name of Ukraine.
During the voting sequence of Semi-final 1 Rita Ora will perform a medley of her hits, but also an all-new song song, called “Praising You”. Next to this, British singer Rebecca Fergusson and Ukrainian Alyosha will perform a special version of the song “Ordinary World”, originally sung by the band Duran Duran.
Semi-final 2
Spoken word will open Semi-final 2; this performance will be about the history of the Eurovision Song Contest.
The name of the interval act of Semi-final 2 is “Music United Generations”. During this performance Ukrainian singer, Mariya Yaremchuk, who competed in the contest in 2014, will perform a medley of well-known Ukrainian music; this medley will be a trip down Ukrainian memory lane, and it will end with OTOY and Zlata Dziunka, of which the latter competed in Junior Eurovision 2022.
There will also be a performance with the name “Be Who You Wanna Be”, celebrating that the contest is a place for everyone. Three well-known drag acts will perform together with dancers and fans of all ages, nationalities, and backgrounds across the grand Eurovision stage.
There will also be a segment during which Timur Myroshnychenko and Graham Norton will discuss the Grand Final with the hosts of Semi-final 2.
Grand Final
The Grand Final of 2023 will open with a performance by last year’s winners, Ukraine’s Kalush Orchestra; they will perform together with an ensemble, called “Voices of a New Generation”.
During the flag parade of the Grand Final 2023 former Ukrainian entrants will remind the viewers of the contest how they have become Eurovision stars in the past couple of years.
Eurovision 2023
The Eurovision Song Contest 2023 will take place on May 9th, 11th, and 13th 2023 in Liverpool, United Kingdom. 37 countries will compete for the crown. This year’s Eurovision Song Contest will be a joint venture, since last year’s winner Ukraine cannot organize the contest on home soil because of the ongoing war with Russia.
Below you can see a picture of who will be in which Semi-final. The Big Five countries, which are France, Spain, Italy, United Kingdom, Germany, and last year’s winner, are automatically in the Grand Final.