Eurovision Song Contest 2023

[Cooksie]

I find it so interesting that it’s not felt we are representing Ukraine enough. I think it must just be that way on tv surely nobody currently in Liverpool can say that? We are hosting raves at the same time as in Ukraine so we are all joined together, the tagline is constantly mentioned that it is Ukraines party in our house, our landmarks are all lit up every night in Ukrainian colours, EuroVillage has has so many amazing Ukrainian acts this week of all genres of music, the Ukrainian section of the village is fab to buy native goods and learn about what they are facing, I haven’t actually seen a uk flag once.. all of our shops are adorned with Ukrainian flags (or bunting of all participating flags), every act playing in the village or in bars is mentioning us standing with Ukraine.. the list is endless I’ll have missed so many more prominent things our city is doing I would be interested to know what more the city could have done?

Unless you are talking about the bbc coverage? The bbc is a whole other subject.. the men in suits down in London don’t get it like us scousers do.. we are having a ball with our international brothers and sisters

 

[Mrs Fluff]

Dying!

 

[knivesnflowers]

went to the dress rehearsal this afternoon and have a few thoughts now i've watched the live show (on iplayer bc i fell asleep when i got home ) beware this is unnecessarily long

• denmark vocal was much better and the transitions around the set were much smoother in DR. if it was based on that alone i'd have predicted he'd go through over armenia
• armenia was a bit wishy washy in DR tbh. a bit surprised she got through over denmark as said but made more sense from what actually happened tonight
• romania sounded a bit better in person but don't think the staging helped
• estonia wasn't a standout from the studio version but the live vocal was amazing in person! got proper shivers. staging with the piano was great too it still had an effect irl even though i was basically on the roof

• LOVED belgium! he wasn't really on my radar before listening on the way there but the arena loved it and he was the one that got the crowd going for the rest of the show. the track reminded me of jessie ware and then she ended up part of the interval medley - would love for her to represent us soon esp. if gustaph does well on saturday

• cyprus was great too! again live vocal made it better than the song sounded initially. pyro really worked in person
• iceland was a tricky one bc i loved her energy she was living for being on stage but it didn't really have an effect on the performance? just didn't impact the song overall like estonia or cyprus did
• greece i wasn't a huge fan of tbh. the singing in cursive stood out for the wrong reasons among all the other entries

• poland's live vocal actually wasn't horrendous. still can't say baby to save her life though. don't even like the song but was singing along through the whole thing, but maybe that says more about me than her. it'll probably be a guilty pleasure in a few years but i was expecting it to flop in the vote like israel did last year. kinda loved rylan's commentary shade too

• solvenia were great, again loved being on stage. i think i maybe preferred san marino song wise but as performers solvenia felt more established
• georgia i really enjoyed. not as impactful in person because the staging was quite small but i completely get why now i've seen it on camera
• san marino again great, preferred slightly to solvenia but maybe it's the english lyrics being more memorable / easier to sing along to?

• austria i've been obsessed with for like three months tbh. their live vocal wasn't *great* in person but sounded much better on the broadcast. the crowd really loved it too - the poe poe poe bit got everyone chanting and clapping along. think they got lost a bit in the staging too but the song is strong enough to do the talking i guess

• albania were really great - so dramatic live and on tv and pleased they got through
• lithuania - loved her! was worried it wouldn't translate on camera but it did and was amazing in person. the backing vocals were so effective and made the performance. same effect as cyprus and estonia for me and is now a fave
• australia were probably got the best crowd reception tbh! maybe it was a last hurrah feeling but a solid cheer at the end and such great performers you can tell they enjoyed it too. again so so happy for them

other thoughts:

• assuming the spain/ukraine/uk performances were recorded yesterday as we only saw clips but different clips to what was shown on tv. i think the uk staging for the first part of the song (what was shown in the arena) really works - agree about showing your own face being a bit cringe but the way she's stood interacts with the screens looks decent.
• hannah waddingham is a class act - she really stood out as loving it all and was interacting with people when she could and bopping along to the performances. love that she doesn't take herself too seriously but is still professional. loved julia too and their duo really works, hugging and chatting between links. alesha was great too but feels maybe a bit less involved? basically they're exactly as they come across on camera
• the stand ins got quite a few laughs from the arena - especially when alesha was telling a bunch of adults they were up past their bedtime at 2:45pm. such great sports with cameras cutting to them when announcing the fake qualifiers too. martin osterdahl was really there though! never really got the appeal but i understood seeing him in casual clothes and slightly scruffy hair
• gutted i missed sam ryder on the albert dock! we walked right past that performance area too. had no idea about the massive stage on the pier head either but it was about to lash down so that wasn't really on my mind tbh.

re. hosting, i think we're doing a great job and it does feel a lot more collaborative when you're fully absorbed in it. i might have more of an opinion once the final has been broadcast though. not to be biased but i'm actually so proud of liverpool - personally never really had a strong english identity and imagine a lot of the city feels the same way so maybe that's why it feels less like we're claiming british win? it was chosen as host city for a reason though and glad they're highlighting that too. unity and a warm welcome are what we do best.

 

[Gym&Tonic]

I don’t understand why the UK are taking over the whole event? They should merely be the venue host. Everything else; hosts, music acts, little informative side bits should all be about Ukraine and not the UK or Liverpool. The UK did not win! Surely I’m not the only one who thinks this?

We should have won though. We were robbed in fairness.

 

[bubbadabut]

Just seen Mae's performance at the semi final. I'm sorry to say she's one of the worst performers we've had. Poor breath control, poor enunciation, no rhythm. Actually made me wince. Annoying as although the song is not my kind of thing, I can't get the song out of my head. Hope she can do better tomorrow night but I'll be on my way to Spain so I'll miss it. Hoping to get to the hotel room for the judging.

 

[UnknownTattler]

Israel be like "you wanna see me dance?!"

 

[LYRA234]

I went to the semi final 1 last night and it was honestly fantastic! The atmosphere was amazing and the performances were so good.
I was really taken back by the quality of the staging and lighting, it was .

Some really good songs too

 

[StephenTJackson]

OH MY GOD IT'S SCOOCH!



Fucking loved SCOOCH and Flyin the Flag! Was ahead of its time and an absolute banger!

 

[MrsBsDayOff]

A lot of countries pay towards it that doesn’t mean they should dominate the night and overtake the winner. Like it or not, or believe the reasons are just or not, the UK did not win! Ukraine did, and cannot host it because it’s too unsafe. The entire event should be about them, not just little tidbits and pity segments… all of it! They won it! Sure there’s been political tactical voting for years, this was no different. The only thing different about it is that they could not physically host it because it’s not safe. I don’t think there should be any UK presenter at all tbh. I think we should all be watching it as though it was televised in Ukraine. There should be nothing British about it whatsoever. Anything to the contrary is just just feelings of being hard done by seeping though.

And as for your last line, I think the UK needs to get over itself tbh.

I disagree, Ukraine is mentioned through the show, Ukrainian presenter, Ukrainian commentator has featured, Liverpool is awash with Ukrainian culture this week, postcards feature Ukrainian locations, Ukraine colors and flag are all over the branding, logo does not even include the Union Jack. BBC are paying, providing facilities in Liverpool and hosting the event so why should they sit back and let Ukrainians do all the work? I've seen no evidence of 'pity segments' for Ukraine, I think the whole co-hosting has been well handled so far.

 

[Dianne]

I’m excited! I’m pregnant and overdue. hope this baby has the grace and decorum to stay in a bit longer so I can watch it all.

 

[strawb]

So do I was gonna look at Croatia to see what that meant in English but maybe the mystery of it is what makes sense?

i'm croatian and believe me translating it won't help but basically it's an anti putin statement singing about what a psychopath he is... and some tractors

 

[Jusa]

The Australian lead singer is a lawyer (I think he specialises in immigration law). He was interviewed on BBC Breakfast Time about Novak Djokovic and the covid controversy

 

[ahtisyourself]

I don’t understand why the UK are taking over the whole event? They should merely be the venue host. Everything else; hosts, music acts, little informative side bits should all be about Ukraine and not the UK or Liverpool. It should be presented by Ukrainians solely. The UK did not win! Surely I’m not the only one who thinks this?

 

[knivesnflowers]

here's the running order btw - finland have a prime slot before the break but spain and sweden seem a bit too close?

 

[CELESTE CROCKETT]

Not posted on this thread yet. Hi everyone
I watch Eurovision because of nostalgia Would sit and watch with mum as a child choosing our favourites. She died young in 1995 so it's a kind of connection to her.
That said I love the utter madness of it. I also loved Story of Fire Saga .... hilarious and summed it up in all its insanity
I shall we watching with me snacks ready

(I don't believe Zelenskyy should speak at the event)

 

[Restless Native]

Fuck you Rita. Praise You is one of my favourite songs

 

[Raquencha]

For people that went the Ukrainian feeling is very high. All of the things in the village and around the docks are either Ukraine or the Eurovision colours/ symbols. Not once did I think oh we’ve taken over. At the fan village there was a Ukrainian lady playing the harb and singing in Ukrainian. There was a Ukrainian choir in John Lewis. A section of the fan village has a Ukrainian section selling Ukrainian clothing, food and an art installation. The show has a very set format and it’s only the presenters and interlude that can really be made specific to that show and both semis had a Ukrainian act. I’m sorry if it feels too british on tv but from being there I felt they were honouring the Ukraine. Also so many fans (including me) had Ukrainian face paint/ flags etc.

 

[UnknownTattler]

No Greece, who will Cyprus give their 12 to?

 

[AManWalksDownTheStreet]

Why should they sit back and let Ukrainians do all the work? Haha maybe because THEY WON? Seriously, the entitlement

I know right, the cheek on us, not having the decency to exclude ourselves completely from an event we’re paying to host. Go back to Mumsnet love, perhaps you can start a thread about the UK’s ‘cheeky fuckery’ over there.

 

[AManWalksDownTheStreet]

A lot of countries pay towards it that doesn’t mean they should dominate the night and overtake the winner. Like it or not, or believe the reasons are just or not, the UK did not win! Ukraine did, and cannot host it because it’s too unsafe. The entire event should be about them, not just little tidbits and pity segments… all of it! They won it! Sure there’s been political tactical voting for years, this was no different. The only thing different about it is that they could not physically host it because it’s not safe. I don’t think there should be any UK presenter at all tbh. I think we should all be watching it as though it was televised in Ukraine. There should be nothing British about it whatsoever. Anything to the contrary is just just feelings of being hard done by seeping though.

And as for your last line, I think the UK needs to get over itself tbh.

So the UK should foot the bill to host and run the shows, with absolutely no acknowledgement of it not being the Ukraine and just pretend that it has nothing do with it? Okay then...