Details revealed for Liverpool's Eurovision Village
The 9 day festival will take place on Liverpool’s Pier Head
Ukraine’s current and former Eurovision champions are to headline Liverpool’s official Eurovision Village - along with a host of major stars from the world of pop, gospel and opera - in a unique celebration.
With just weeks to go until Eurovision takes over the city, the first Village details have been announced shining a light on the nine-day programme guaranteeing fun, food and fantastic music - promising to be one huge party!
Opening on Friday 5 May and running every day until the Grand Final on 13 May, the Eurovision Village will offer a mix of incredible one-off shows, live performances, DJ sets and special guest appearances.
A unique area – Discover Ukraine – will be dedicated to celebrating Ukrainian creatives, with a whole range of European food and drink on offer across the site, making the Pier Head the place to spend time with family and friends and soak up the Eurovision atmosphere.
The first eight days of the Eurovision Village will be free and non-ticketed, with the Grand Final Party on the Pier Head on Saturday 13 May being £15 a ticket.
The first wave of tickets for the Grand Final Party will go on sale at midday on Friday 14 April from the Ticket Quarter website.
Although full line-ups will be announced on the Visit Liverpool website in the coming days, the themes for each day and the headline performers have been announced:
Friday 5 May, 5pm to 11pm – Welcome to Eurotopia
The village will open with a performance from current Eurovision Champions Kalush Orchestra.
They will then be followed by Welcome to Eurotopia – an extraordinary musical odyssey created in collaboration between a supergroup of Liverpool and Ukrainian artists: Natalie McCool, Stealing Sheep, Helleroid, Krapka;KOMA and Iryna Muha.
Saturday 6 May, 10.30am to 11pm – A Royally Good Party
The Village will open in the morning to show the BBC’s live coverage of the King’s Coronation, before a range of Eurovision acts are welcomed to the stage.
But Saturday in the village is all about The Royalty Ball, a joyous extravaganza of costume, choreographed dance and the best of the North West’s vogue scene, will spring into action via a large runway at the heart of the Village. Hosted by Liverpool’s House of Suarez, the event will be an unmissable invitation for all audiences as thousands of fans convene to celebrate the run-up to Eurovision.
Sunday 7 May, midday to TBC – Firstival
Enjoy Bank Holiday Sunday with a day-long kids’ festival. Live performances, great music and lots of fun from some of your favourites from CBBC and Cbeebies, including a special set from Andy and the Odd Socks!
Fans will also get to enjoy amazing emerging local artists presented by LIMF Academy including neo-jazz singer Ni Maxine and vocal harmony band Mic Lowry before welcoming the amazing House Gospel Choir.
Monday 8 May, midday to 11pm – This is Ukraine
The afternoon will be a celebration of the best of new music with BBC Introducing programming the stage, as well as proudly presenting an extraordinary line up of Ukrainian music. Antytila, Go_A, alyona alyona and Jerry Heil will be bringing the best of modern Ukrainian music to Liverpool.
Tuesday 9 May, midday to 11pm – Night at the Opera
Before screening the first semi-final live, the perfect warm up will be the English National Opera does Eurovision. This one off performance is going to be iconic as audiences experience Eurovision like never before. The world-renowned ENO Chorus and Orchestra, conducted by Stephen Bell, are joined by former Eurovision contestants and international opera stars to perform classical arrangements of some of Eurovision’s greatest hits.
Wednesday 10 May, midday to 11pm - United by Music
The National Lottery presents United by Music, will see The National Lottery and Music Venues Trust programme an evening of break out stars and music icons.
Thursday 11 May, midday to 11pm – Jamala presents QIRIM
Before screening the second semi-final live, former Eurovision winner Jamala will wow audiences with the World Premiere of her brand new album QIRIM, inspired by the folk songs of her native Crimea. Performed alongside the BBC Philharmonic this will be an extraordinary musical moment.
Friday 12 May, midday to midnight – EuroEve
As the excitement levels reach fever pitch ahead of the big day, Tik Tok’s Eurovision Legends will take over the stage before making way for an epic, all female party to get everyone in the mood for Saturday. EuroEve will feature live performances from Sophie Ellis Bextor alongside other pop powerhouses, and for this very special occasion, the legendary Charlotte Church’s Late Night Pop Dungeon will be performing their very last show. This promises to be huge.
Saturday 13 May, 2pm to late – The Main Event, £15 per ticket
The Grand Final Party on the Pier Head will see a mega line up of pop acts and special performances build up to the main event and the biggest and best viewing party in Liverpool.
With a very special main stage host, we are excited to welcome acts including Katrina, formerly of Katrina and the Waves, and a set from pop royalty The Vengaboys.
After that build up, the village will transform into the biggest and best Eurovision viewing party on the planet!
Director of Culture Liverpool, Claire McColgan CBE, said:
“From talking to previous host cities we know the official Eurovision Village is a key part of the Eurovision experience and, as with our whole host city offer, we wanted Liverpool’s programme to go above and beyond what you would normally expect in a fan zone.
“Across nine days, there will a true celebration of music and unity, with household names, international acts and up-and-coming talent taking to the stage and performing - all against the stunning backdrop of our waterfront.
“Ukraine is of course the thread which runs through everything, and as well as acts on the stage it is really important for us to dedicate areas that are focused on all aspects of Ukrainian culture.
“With this and the EuroFestival programme taking place at the same time – all I can say is get those diaries cleared for May!”
Lead Singer of the band Kalush Orchestra, Oleh Psiuk, said:
"We have never been to Liverpool before and you know, performing where the Beatles themselves started will be very inspiring. We believe that this year's organisers of Eurovision 2023 will be able to best convey the Ukrainian atmosphere in the design of the show in Liverpool,"