Mayor of Turin Stefano Lo Russo and Mayor of Liverpool Joanne Anderson at St George’s Hall (peter Byrne/PA)
(Picture: PA Wire)`Liverpool has officially taken over as Eurovision 2023 host as the running order for semi-finalists was announced at a launch ceremomy in the city.
The draw for the semi final clashes were announced in a televised event fronted by Rylan Clark and AJ Odudu at St George’s Hall in the city.
The international music show will take place at the 11,000-capacity Liverpool Arena in May, culminating in the grand final on Saturday 13, after the city was chosen to host the competition on behalf of 2022 winners Ukraine.
A total of 37 countries are set to take part in Eurovision this year, with Ukraine automatically qualifying as 2022’s winners as well as the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain – who each get a free pass because of their financial contributions to the event.
Clark and Odudu announced the 15 countries who will be performing in the first semi-final.
Going up against Ireland will be Serbia, Latvia, Norway, Portugal, Croatia, Malta, Sweden, Moldova, Switzerland, Israel, the Netherlands, Finland, Azerbaijan and the Czech Republic.
Semi-final two will see Armenia, Cyprus, Romania, Denmark, Belgium, Iceland, Greece, Estonia, Albania, Australia, Austria, Lithuania, San Marino, Slovenia, Georgia and Poland go head to head.
Mayor of Turin Stefano Lo Russo said he had given the mayor of Liverpool “very short advice” as he prepared to hand over the Eurovision keys to the city.
He added : “Enjoy the event, include everybody and try to engage as much as possible the whole city because it’s a brilliant city, really very good vibes and so I think Eurovision Song Contest 2023 in Liverpool will be exploding in a very, very nice way.”
Mayor of Liverpool Joanne Anderson said excitement in the city was building.
She said: “It started on Sunday when I met the mayor of Turin and he was talking about the fantastic economic impact that Eurovision had had on his city and that’s when it became very real for me.
“So tonight it starts, it kicks off and we’ve got a busy couple of months ahead of us. Everything that we’re doing is about Eurovision and it’s extremely exciting.
“I’m overwhelmed by how supportive everyone’s been from the time we’ve gone for the bid, everybody’s been so supportive, and yeah there’s so much darkness in the world right now and what’s going on in Ukraine, this is a real opportunity to just focus on hope and positivity.”
Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan said Eurovision was a “big coup” for Liverpool and it was “easy to understand” why the city had been chosen to host.
Speaking about the money spent on hosting the contest, she said: “It is a collaborative investment from both Liverpool and the Government, but also from the BBC.
“We’ve got to remember how much these events generate. If we look back at Stockholm, for instance, that generated £27 million to £28 million into the city, so this is going to be a real boost to the local economy for tourism, etc.”
The official handover ceremony opened with messages from famous Ukrainian faces expressing the importance of Liverpool hosting on behalf of the war-torn country.
Among those was Eurovision commentator Timur Miroshnychenko who said: “Eurovision is love, music and diversity.”
Meanwhile, musician Julia Sanina added that the combination of the cultures of Liverpool and Ukraine coming together “is going to be something unbelievable”.
