Mae Muller "ready to get this show on the road" ahead of Eurovision Grand Final
The UK entrant is last on the running order - performing 'I Wrote A Song' at tonight's contest - but we won't hear from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Last updated 13th May 2023
Just hours before the Grand Final of the Eurovision Song Contest, the UK's entrant Mae Muller says she's 'ready to get the show on the road' as excitement builds in Liverpool this afternoon.
Like all of the contestants tonight, her performance has been months in the making - with writing, preparation, staging and costume all playing their part in for just three minutes on the stage.
She's performing in 26th place at the contest, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but the UK has never won by performing last at Eurovision before.
She's is hoping to continue the success of last year's UK entry Sam Ryder, who finished second behind Kalush Orchestra from Ukraine.
Twenty-six acts will perform at the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool to an expected global audience of 160 million viewers, according to the BBC, after the UK agreed to host the contest on behalf of war-torn Ukraine.
Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelenskyy had been barred from addressing the event over fears it could politicise the event.
The move prompted criticism from Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his predecessor Boris Johnson, among other figures, but the European Broadcasting Union has declined to comment any further on the matter.
Liverpool City Region mayor Steve Rotheram has said he will speak to both the Ukrainian ambassador and the mayor of Lviv, who are both in the city for the final, "to discuss what we can do to provide a platform" for Mr Zelenskkyy.
At tonight's event, though, Austria will open the show with Teya and Salena's quirky dance-pop tune Who The Hell Is Edgar?, about being possessed by the ghost of 19th century Gothic author Edgar Allan Poe.
But they all face tough competition from previous winner Loreen representing Sweden and Kaarija representing Finland, both favourites to win.
The full line-up of the grand final was revealed following the second knockout round on Thursday night.
After 16 countries competed, the 10 remaining spots went to Poland, Australia, Cyprus, Albania, Estonia, Belgium, Austria, Lithuania, Armenia and Slovenia.
The 10 countries that qualified from Tuesday's semi-final were Croatia, Moldova, Switzerland, Finland, Czechia, Israel, Portugal, Sweden, Serbia and Norway.
They will join the so-called "big five" nations - the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain - who each get a free pass because of their financial contributions to the event, along with last year's winners Ukraine.
The Eurovision Grand Final will air live from 8pm tonight.