Eurovision 2023: Royal themes and unicorns in first semi-final

Noa Kirel of Israel (C) performs with dancers during a rehearsal for the 67th annual Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) at the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool, Britain, 08 May 2023

After months of planning it’s finally here – the world’s biggest music event kicks off in Liverpool later with the first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest.

Fifteen countries will compete for 10 places in Saturday night’s grand final.

Tuesday night’s show, hosted by Alesha Dixon, Hannah Waddingham and Ukrainian singer Julia Sanina, will be broadcast live on BBC One from 20:00 BST.

It will be down to viewers to decide whose choreography was on point, who could hit the high whistle notes, and which costume caught the eye.

The second semi-final takes place at the Liverpool M&S Bank Arena on Thursday.

As it happened: Eurovision Song Contest first Semi-Final

Ukraine qualify for the final after Kalush Orchestra won last year. France, Spain, Germany, Italy and the UK are also through because they pay more to organisers, the EBU.

What to look out for

Some of the biggest hitters in the competition perform tonight, including two of the favourites to win the whole contest – Finland and Sweden.

With it generally being considered the stronger of the two preliminary stages this year, there is a real risk of a shock elimination.

Loreen
IMAGE SOURCE,CHLOE HASHEMI/EBU
Image caption,

Fans will be keeping an eye out for Loreen’s striking staging

There’s a lot of talk about Swedish act Loreen this year, the bookies’ favourite. She won in 2012 with her track Euphoria and wants to become the first woman to win twice. This time she’s singing Tattoo.

Finland
IMAGE SOURCE,SARAH LOUISE BENNETT / EBU
Image caption,

Käärijä’s Cha Cha Cha is a great song to run to

Also looking for a spot in the final is Finnish rapper Käärijä, who says he views her as his main competition – could they set up a battle of the Nordic nations for the final?

But it’s Let 3 from Croatia who will no doubt have viewers staring at the screen wide-eyed, when the band strip down to their underwear as missile props join them on stage.

For slick dance moves, strong vocals, and a new word, “femininal” stay tuned for Israel‘s Noa Kirel and her track, Unicorn.

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