A friendly flight attendant. A knowledgeable taxi driver. A well-connected hotel concierge or a remarkably well-informed receptionist can make all the difference to a travellers overall experience when visiting a new city, especially during a major international event.
Liverpool’s front of house staff are often offer the very first impression visitors get of our city region and they play a vital role in delivering the warm welcome and excellent service travellers have come to expect from Liverpool City Region.
As the city prepares to host Eurovision 2023, Marketing Liverpool have been hosting a series of training events to ensure our front of house staff have access to all the information they need when it comes to telling their customers and patrons about this incredible event. As part of this process, we have put together a detailed ‘Eurovision 2023 in Liverpool’ information pack for our visitor economy’s public facing staff – and anyone else who is interested – for them to get up to speed quickly with all things Eurovision 2023, which you can see below.
Together, with the unwavering support of Liverpool City Region’s visitor economy, we are certain Eurovision 2023 will become a nother major highlight in our city region’s glittering cultural calendar and legacy.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Liverpool is the UK city hosting the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 on behalf of Ukraine, with the grand final taking place on Saturday 13 May at 8pm. It is brought to Liverpool by the BBC and the European Broadcasting Union. On 7th of October 2022 Liverpool was selected as the host city to stage the competition on behalf of Ukraine.
Eurovision is expected to bring around £25 million for Liverpool and LCR’s economy during May itself. It is also expected that by hosting the event, through the media coverage and repeat/recommending visitors, tourism will increase by up to 5 per cent a year – which will equate to over £250 million extra revenue by 2026. As a city and region, we must seize the opportunity of showcasing our amazing offer and entice visitors to return.
The live shows are the responsibility of the BBC and European Broadcasting Union. (EBU)
As host city, Liverpool City Council (Culture Liverpool) is responsible for everything else related: The event, fan zones, safety and security, city dressing, the cultural festival, school and community programmes, the opening ceremony and the many other ways Eurovision will take over Liverpool.
Eurovision in Numbers
- 37 Competing Nations
- 1200 Media attending
- 160 million watch the Grand Final Live
- 9 Dress Rehearsals – 6 with an audience
- 9 Days Eurovision Village – Pier Head
- 9 Days Euro Club – Baltic Triangle
- 14 Days Euro Fest Cultural Programme
- Eurovision Tickets – 6,000 tickets for 9 shows – sold out in 36minutes.
- 3,000 tickets set aside for Ukrainians living in the UK on visa programmes.
- 1 Turquoise Carpet opening ceremony.
The 37 Countries competing in Eurovision 2023 are:
Albania Armenia Australia Austria Azerbaijan Belgium
Croatia Cyprus Czechia Denmark Estonia Finland
France Georgia Germany Greece Iceland Ireland
Israel Italy Latvia Lithuania Malta Moldova
Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Romania San Marino
Serbia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland Ukraine
United Kingdom
All live shows will take place in the M&S Bank Arena, with an array of Eurovision cultural events taking place across the city centre, including the Euro Club at Camp &Furnace in the Baltic Triangle and the Eurovision Village will be taking over the Pier Head.
Eurovision Timetable
Semi Final 1 x 3 Shows. 8th & 9TH May
Evening Preview -8th May at 8pm, Afternoon Preview – 9th May at 1:30pm.
Live Show – Tuesday 9th May at 8pm
Semi Final 2 x 3 Shows. 10th & 11th May
Evening Preview on Wednesday 10th May at 8pm, Afternoon Preview on Thursday 11th May at 1:30pm,
Live Show on Thursday 11th May at 8pm.
Semi-Final 9th May / Second Semi-Final 11th May
Thirty-one countries went into the draw for the Semi-Finals with the twenty best ranked entries from the two semi-finals progressing to the Grand Final on May 13.
Twenty-six countries will then participate in the Grand Final: – the ‘Big 5’ (Spain, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy) and the previous year’s winner Ukraine automatically qualify.
Grand Final x 3 Shows. 12th & 13th May
Evening Preview on Friday 12th May at 8pm, Afternoon Preview on Saturday 13th May at 1pm
Live Show on Saturday 13th May at 8pm. All will be broadcast live on the BBC
TIKTOK has been selected as the official entertainment partner of Eurovision 2023 – Read more
Who are the Eurovision Hosts for the Shows?
Grand Final: – Graham Norton – Julia Sanina – Alesha Dixon – Hannah Waddingham. Also Mel Giedroyc, Rylan, Scott Mills, Claire Sweeney, Sam Quek and Timur Miroshnychenko will be presenting.
More than a Song Contest: EuroClub at Camp & Furnace?
The OGAE (Organisation Générale des Amateurs de l’Eurovision) – which is made up of 42 fan clubs from across the world – has announced that it is bringing its EuroClub to Camp and Furnace. Acting as the city’s official party venue, it is set to attract thousands of fans.
The EuroClub will take over the Baltic Triangle venue for nine nights – from Friday 5th to Saturday 13th May – every evening, the venue will play host to special events and gatherings which will celebrate the competing nations.
Live Acts announced so far at Camp & Furnace: –
Jedward, Conchita Wurst, Jemini, Linda Martin, KEIINO, Charlotte Perrelli, Joker Out, SuRie, Lindsay Dracass, Nicki French. Tickets went on sale on Wednesday 22nd March.
Eurovision Village
This is the Eurovision 2023 Fan Zone and is situated at the Pier Head. Currently LCC have applied for a licence to stage plays, films, music, and dance events between 1st – 20th May. Alcohol will be for sale on and off the premises at certain events, it will be open to all, and all events will be free to attend except possibly during the Grand Final on Saturday 13th May, if it is ticketed it will be affordable to all. The Fan Zone could welcome as many as 25,000 fans. Information about the Fan Zone is continually being updated.
EuroFest
A two-week cultural festival – from Monday 1st to Sunday 14 May 2023. The festival will present 24 brand new commissions – 19 of which are collaborations between UK and Ukrainian artists.
The majority of the work being produced has been inspired by the Eurovision 2023 slogan ‘United by Music’.
The Blue and Yellow Submarine Parade by The Kazimier – is a huge outdoor underwater sea disco which will make its way through the city to kickstart the Eurovision Party. Working with UK and Ukrainian designers, musicians and community groups, hundreds of performers, music and a huge glitterball jellyfish. More details to come.
The English National Opera does Eurovision is being created by the English National Opera and will be a unique show bringing together two very different musical worlds into one epic outdoor performance with live chorus and orchestra.
Izyum to Liverpool by Ukrainian artist Katya Buchatska, will transform Liverpool Cathedral into a train carriage replicating the journey from Izyum to the border with Poland. Filmed in real time, this piece offers an extraordinary window into today’s landscape of Ukraine.
Finally, Rave UKraine is a collaboration between producer Jez Collins, UAME I Music Saves UA and Open Culture to deliver a simultaneous rave in Liverpool and Kyiv which will be streamed across the world. This commission is a celebration of the uniting power of music and the resilience of Ukrainians throughout the last year to keep making music, dancing and celebrating culture.
Euro Streets – Engagement programme for communities:
Euro Learn – Education Programme
Glitter Not Litter
Liverpool City Council has developed “Glitter Not Litter” as an extension of its collaboration with Keep Britain Tidy in 2022 and has been designed to engage people in the preparations for Eurovision.
National Lottery’s Big Eurovision Welcome Party St Georges Hall Sunday 7th May
The party will showcase Liverpool’s musical offer, unique humour, and famously warm welcome, as well as the partnership between Liverpool, Ukraine and Eurovision that defines this year’s Eurovision. Up to 15,000 pairs of free tickets will be available (subject to a small booking fee), for National Lottery players, who are able to claim a pair on a first come, first served basis. It is a ‘thank you’ for the £330M contributed to over 3,600 music and cultural projects in Liverpool. A proportion of tickets will be reserved for Ukrainian residents in the UK, including refugees supported by National Lottery funded organisations, as well as community groups from Liverpool. Tickets will be released in early April, details to be confirmed soon.
Volunteer Programme
Volunteers are there to assist all visitors to Eurovision, they will wear Eurovision branded distinctive yellow uniforms and will be working around Eurovision venues and throughout the city centre. Welcome Hubs will be situated at Liverpool One, Liverpool Lime St, The Pierhead and also at Liverpool John Lennon Airport.
As of 30th March, the following Eurovision information is still to be released: –
- The 2023 Eurovision Press Centre venue
- The 2023 Eurovision Delegation Bubble venue
- The 2023 Eurovision Opening Event -Turquoise Carpet venue and location info.
- The 2023 Eurovision Semi-final #1 Opening Act
- The 2023 Eurovision Semi-final #2 Opening Act
- The 2023 Eurovision Grand Final Opening Act
- The 2023 Eurovision Semi-final #1 Interval Act
- The 2023 Eurovision Semi-final #2 Interval Act
- The 2023 Eurovision Grand Final Interval Act
- The 2023 Eurovision Press Conference Hosts
- The 2023 Eurovision Rehearsals and Press Conferences Schedule
- The 2023 Eurovision Grand Final Running Order
- Additional and more detailed Eurovision Village information- ticketing and programme artists
Eurovision Liverpool 2023 Videos:
Essential Websites:
Ensure you sign up for newsletters, also check online socials.
Liverpool City Council/ Liverpool Express/Culture Liverpool and Visit Liverpool
- Liverpool Express
- Culture Liverpool
- VisitLiverpool
- Eurovision Business (For EV2023 Branding/TikTok – 3 downloadable guides)
Additional websites:
- Eurovision.TV – This covers the history of Eurovision right up to Liverpool 2023. You can also scroll down to sign up to their newsletter
- Esctoday.com – For daily Eurovision updates
- Eurovision.tv/mediacentre
- Euroclub2023.co.uk/home
- Eurovisionworld.com/eurovision/2023/event
- Eurovision_Song_Contest at Wikipedia
Background and History of Eurovision
For further about Liverpool’s hosting of Eurovision 2023, queries, questions, or ideas, can be emailed to eurovision2023@liverpool.gov.uk