This year’s Eurovision Song Contest hosts have been announced as Hannah Waddingham, Alesha Dixon and Julia Sanina.
The trio of presenters will host the semi-finals on May 9 and 11, with BBC presenter Graham Norton joining them for the grand final in Liverpool on Saturday, May 13.
More than 160 million people globally are expected to watch the competition.
The UK is hosting on behalf of 2022 winner Ukraine, which is unable to stage the event due to Russia’s invasion of the country.
Eurovision was last held in the UK in 1998, when the ceremony was presented by Terry Wogan and Ulrika Jonsson.
The BBC, which is replacing the Ukrainian broadcaster UA: PBC, said that BBC Radio 2 presenters Scott Mills and Rylan would be its semi-final commentators.
Norton, who has been the BBC’s Eurovision TV commentator since 2009, said he felt a “big responsibility to make our Ukrainian colleagues proud”.
But who exactly is one of his co-hosts, Sanina? Here’s all you need to know.
Who is Julia Sanina?
Julia Sanina is the frontwoman of Ukrainian alternative band The Hardkiss, who are set to appear on tonight’s The One Show.
The Hardkiss were created in 2011 and in 2012 were shortlisted for the MTV Europe Music Award (EMA) for Best Ukrainian Artist.
At the Ukrainian national music awards YUNA, they won in two categories — “Discovery of the Year” and “Best video of the year”.
Sanina was previously a Dancing With The Stars finalist, and has been a judge on the Ukrainian version of the The X Factor.
“I’m so excited to showcase Ukrainian culture and creativity, and to help put on a show to make my country proud,” she said of her Eurovision hosting role.
“I can’t wait to get to Liverpool and meet the fans and the rest of the Eurovision family.”
She is married to Valeriy “Val” Bebko, a creative producer and lead guitarist of The Hardkiss.
Which countries are taking part in Eurovision 2023?
A total of 37 countries are set to take part in Eurovision this year, with Ukraine automatically qualifying as 2022 winners. It joins the the so-called “big five” — the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain — because of their financial contributions to the event.
Ireland, Serbia, Latvia, Norway, Portugal, Croatia, Malta, Sweden, Moldova, Switzerland, Israel, the Netherlands, Finland, Azerbaijan and the Czech Republic will perform in the first semi-final on May 9.
Armenia, Cyprus, Romania, Denmark, Belgium, Iceland, Greece, Estonia, Albania, Australia, Austria, Lithuania, San Marino, Slovenia, Georgia and Poland will go head-to-head in the second semi-final on May 11.
