The Eurovision Song Contest is coming to the UK for the ninth time.
Liverpool was announced as the host city of Eurovision in 2022, after winners Ukraine could not hold the competition for safety and security reasons due to the ongoing invasion by Russia. This meant the UK, who came second place with Sam Ryder's performance and song Space Man, would be hosting the show in 2023.
The UK last hosted the Eurovision Song Contest in 1998 in Birmingham following Katrina and the Waves' victory with Love Shine A Light in 1997. At the time, the UK finished the competition as runners up on home soil with their entry coming from Imaani with the song Where Are You?
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The second place finish would remain Britain’s highest ranked performance at Eurovision for the next 24 years, until Sam Ryder achieved the same feat in 2022.
The UK has hosted the competition eight times in total. No Welsh city has ever hosted Eurovision with UK host cities being made of London in 1960, 1963, 1968 and 1977, Edinburgh in 1972, Brighton in 1974 and Harrogate in 1982. The UK made its debut in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1957.
You can tune into the Eurovision Song Contest: Handover Ceremony and Draw on Tuesday, January 31, at 7pm on BBC Two to see which nations will make it into the semi-final for the 2023 competition.
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The countdown has officially started. Join our Eurovision 2023 in Liverpool Facebook group