Music fans from all over the world have expressed their excitement to be here, in Liverpool, for the Eurovision Song Contest 2023.
Yesterday, Tuesday, May 9, the second of nine shows took place at the M&S Bank Arena. The first live show aired on the BBC and saw 15 acts perform with the public - outside of the UK - being given the chance to vote for their favourite artist or home country.
Fan favourites Finland’s Käärij and Sweden’s Loreen both qualified for Saturday’s Grand Final with their hits Cha Cha Cha and Tattoo respectively.
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As well as broadcasting the live show to a crowd of 15,000, the EuroVillage hosted the likes of Belgium’s Gustaph and the UK’s very own Sonia. We headed down to get to know more about Eurovision fans who have travelled from other countries to soak up the atmosphere in the city this week.
Superfan Diederick Zinkstok caught our eye straight away. Dressed in a rainbow-coloured blazer and matching tie, he wasn't hard to miss.
The 43-year-old from the Netherlands said he was excited about “the music, the city and the people”. He flew 402 miles into Wales and travelled to the city from there. Diederick is staying in the city centre but unfortunately was unable to secure tickets for any of the shows.
He said: “We are really enjoying ourselves and all the lovely people here. It’s lovely weather as well. Of course, I’m supporting the Dutch to win but it is going to be a tough one.”
Friends, Jan and Patrick, stole the show with the outfits they had planned for “years and years” in advance. The two travelled 337 miles to attend Eurovision in costumes that had everyone stopping for a picture.
They went to the Pier Head dressed in inflatable orange wigs and blue t-shirts with "keep calm and stay in tune" written on them. When asked about where the idea for the outfits came from Patrick said: "We had this (the outfits) ready for years and years."
Jan added: "It started off with the T-shirt, and we sort of bought the wigs and then we had to add the flag and the clogs. My mother sewed the typical Dutch clothing, traditional clothing."
The couple, from Amsterdam, managed to grab tickets for two of the jury shows on Wednesday and Friday and said they were "very excited".
Super fans Ky and Natasha, from Sussex, saw the preview of the semi-final on Monday, May 8.
The two, who were dressed as Ukraine’s Verka Serduchka, said the solidarity of the Ukrainian community in Liverpool is what has stuck out to them the most so far.
Nadav, Ofer and Dolev had sore throats from screaming all day for their home country - Israel. The group watched proudly as Noa Kirel performed Unicorn and eventually qualified for Saturday’s final.
Nadav told the ECHO: “Wow, wow, wow. Just wow. That performance was amazing and it’s nice to see the crowd (at EuroVillage) love her as much as we do.”
Ian Naughton, from Childwall originally but now living in Galway, Ireland, said he knew he had to come back to his home city once the host city had been announced.
The 56-year-old, who got tickets for Thursday's semi-final show, said: “It’s been on my bucket list for years and there’s no better place than Liverpool, a place of music, to have the Song Contest.”
Best friends Robyn, Kenzie and Kelsey from Wrexham and Ireland, were working at the EuroVillage at one of the many stalls. The stalls sell everything from crepes and doughnuts to halloumi fries and bubble tea and of course, alcohol.
Robyn said: “We can’t believe we get to work this together and get paid to be here at the EuroVillage.”
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