After months of planning, weeks of rehearsals and two live semi finals, it all comes down to this – the Grand Final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2023!
This year the contest is being hosted in Liverpool, after the UK (who came second in 2022) offered to host on behalf of last year’s winner Ukraine. It has been an amazing party atmosphere in the city all week, and that’s only set to continue this evening as we find out which of the 26 countries taking part – 10 qualifiers from each semi-final, plus Ukraine and the ‘Big Five’ of France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK – will be taking home the trophy.
There’s already been plenty of shocks and surprises, so it’s set to be an amazing Grand Final! We’ve got our favourites here at EF (personally I’m rooting for Finland, Austria and Belgium) and will also be cheering on the UK’s entrant, Mae Muller who performs ‘I Wrote A Song’ in the number 26 slot, so make sure you stay awake for that! But here’s what else to keep a look out for, wherever you’re watching this evening…
1: Hannah Waddingham
I would say ‘That’s it. That’s the post’, but Hannah Waddingham has been utterly sensational as a host this year. Best known for her role in the hit comedy series ‘Ted Lasso’ and fresh off her first ever hosting gig (although you’d never know it from watching her) at the Olivier Awards last month, she has been an absolute shining star of the contest so far. Alongside co-hosts Alesha Dixon and Ukraine’s Julia Sanina, she’s cracked jokes throughout, delivered flawless French (she also speaks fluent Italian) and wowed with some amazing outfits – I’m still not over the gorgeous gown in this year’s contest colours she wore on Tuesday. Tonight she’ll also have the job of announcing the results alongside Graham Norton, who’s pulling double duty as a host and commentator, with Mel Giedroyc stepping into the commentary box whilst he’s on stage.
2: The return of Sam Ryder – and Kalush Orchestra
It’s safe to say that Eurovision catapulted Sam Ryder to being a bonafide pop star. The smiliest, sunniest man in showbusiness has had huge success since he reached second place last year with ‘SPACE MAN’, racking up a number one album and a sold-out UK tour since, and has been entertaining the crowds in Liverpool all week including a free concert for 5,000 people at the Albert Dock and three sold-out Cavern Club shows. Tonight he’ll make his return to the Eurovision stage to perform his brand new single ‘Mountain’. Elsewhere, the current reigning Eurovision champions Kalush Orchestra will be opening the show, playing their latest single ‘Changes’ as well as their winning song ‘Stefania’ – expect to see plenty of their iconic pink bucket hats in the audience! – before the flag parade which features a mix of iconic British anthems mixed with Ukrainian Eurovision songs, including fan favourites Go_A, Jamala and Eurovision legend Verka Seduchka.
3: Scandi superstars battle it out
All the chatter in the build-up to tonight has been about whether it will be Sweden or Finland who picks up the Eurovision trophy this evening. For Sweden, Eurovision legend Loreen – who won in 2012 with her song ‘Euphoria’ – will return to perform powerful ballad ‘Tattoo’, complete with an absolutely incredible moving stage set that’s sure to impress at home and in the arena. For Finland, it’s new boy Käärijä, who’s been popping up all over Liverpool and winning over fans with his infectious enthusiasm as much as his catchy song ‘Cha Cha Cha’ which mixes rap, metal, electronica and schlager, as well as an already iconic neon green bolero. However, I’m also going to suggest that Norway’s Alessandra might be a dark horse to take the crown tonight. She’s 20th in the running order with her song ‘Queen Of Kings’ and its absolute earworm of a chorus, so if she can deliver on the big notes we could be heading to Oslo in 2024.
4: The interval act
I know I’ve banged on about the Eurovision interval acts in my preview posts this week, but they really have been incredible – from Rebecca Ferguson and Ayosha’s performance of ‘Ordinary World’ on Tuesday to the gasp-inducing ‘Queen Machine’ on Thursday. Tonight’s act has a lot to live up to, and it promises to be a good one. Six Eurovision icons – Mahmood from italy, Israel’s Netta, Icelandic king Daði Freyr, Cornelia Jakobs from Sweden and the Netherlands’ Duncan Laurence, along with Liverpool’s very own Sonia – will each be performing anthems from the Liverpool Songbook. In a city with such a wealth of music, expect to hear some fantastic songs and see some brilliant performances. I’m also hearing rumours that a very special guest is appearing (Paul McCartney? Ed Sheeran? Elton John?) so make sure you keep a look out for that!
5: The voting
And last but not least, the big one – the vote to decide who will win the Eurovision Song Contest 2023. In a similar format to last year, we’ll see each of the 37 participating countries announce their ‘douze points’ from their juries (with Catherine Tate doing the honours on behalf of the UK) before the public vote for each country is announced by our hosts Hannah and Graham. If it’s anything like 2022 it’s set to be an absolutely nail-biting finish, so don’t forget to stay tuned until the very end to find out where we’ll be heading to next year.
