It’s happened, it’s really happened! – Eurovision is coming to the Liverpool City Region.
Liverpool has been selected by the European Broadcast Union (EBU) and BBC and in May 2023, we will host the globally renowned song contest on behalf of Ukraine.
Members of the LCR Pride Foundation team were honoured to be in The One Show’s live reaction room on Friday as Graham Norton made the announcement, alongside Claire McColgan MBE? from Culture Liverpool and representatives from other partners including Liverpool City Council and the Liverpool BID Company, who have worked tirelessly to put together the winning bid for the event.
Liverpool received praise for the city’s world-class facilities including the M&S Bank Arena and ACC Liverpool, the innovation behind its cultural programme, the plans to celebrate Ukrainian people and community and the ‘walkability’ of the city.
Its unrivalled reputation for staging large-scale cultural events also played a key part in the decision-making process as did the city’s relationship with its sister city Odesa. The city region-wide support for Liverpool’s bid also proved to be a hit with the judges, and the ‘Team Liverpool’ approach was noted as residents, visitors, organisations and community groups across the city got behind the bid.
So what happens now?
Right now the city’s Eurovision team is putting its plans into action, which includes working with Ukrainian street artists and fashion designers, creating a Liverpool/Ukraine community education programme and developing plans to host a special culture trail featuring Eurovision and scouse legend Sonia.
Andi Herring, CEO and Co-founder of LCR Pride Foundation, said: “In case you couldn’t tell from our faces in the reaction room on Friday, we were stunned. We always believed in the city’s bid, but we knew that we had stiff competition in the fantastic city of Glasgow. This is such a huge opportunity for the city and it will also mean a great deal to much of the LGBT+ community here.
“Eurovision is fabulous, camp, glitter-filled fun, but more importantly it’s a celebration of beautiful difference and diversity. It’s inclusive and welcoming to all and carries a powerful message of unity that resonates strongly with the LGBT+ community.
“As an organisation it is our mission to make the Liverpool City Region the most LGBT+ friendly region in the UK and we believe that people will feel that when they arrive here for the song contest.
“We also mustn’t forget the reason that we are hosting the competition. The people of Ukraine will be at the heart of everything the city does. We’re so excited for the road to Eurovision ahead and looking forward to working closely with city partners to make sure we live the spirit of Eurovision, ensure an event that honours and celebrates the people of Ukraine and make it the best Eurovision ever.”
Speaking of Liverpool’s win, The Mayor of Odesa, Gennadiy Trukhanov said: “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! Your city is worthy of that as it embodies the colourfulness and brightness of entire Europe. You definitely know how to make the world dance and sing along with you. Next year all musical roads of Europe will lead to your city, and we are happy that not only the Eurovision contest will decorate Liverpool, but the city itself will adorn the event too. All of Odesa is looking forward to literally hearing from you!”
Director of Culture Liverpool, Claire McColgan CBE, added: “This feels like our European Capital of Culture win all over again – I’m (almost) lost for words, but not quite! It has been a whirlwind few months where we have spent hundreds upon hundreds of hours devising a meaningful, thought-provoking bid which is energising, inspiring and pays homage to Ukraine and its incredible people. Liverpool is the right city to host this event – it’s a bitter-sweet win, but will be a showcase of solidarity across the UK and Europe. It will be an extraordinary time and we can’t wait for the next part of the journey.”
Stay tuned to our website and social media channels for Eurovision 2023 updates.
For information on tickets, visit the Eurovision official website here.