The Eurovision Song Contest, ESC for short, is one of the most popular TV events in Europe. According to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), 161 million people watched the final of last year’s competition live on TV. Contrary to tradition, this year’s ESC will not be held in the country of last year’s winner, Ukraine – the reason for this is the ongoing war. The organizers are therefore inviting you to the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool for the ESC 2023. British singer-songwriter Sam Ryder took second place in 2022.
The dates of this year’s ESC
Before the final begins on May 13 at 9 p.m., two semi-finals will take place on May 9 and 11, each at 9 p.m. The ARD broadcasts the spectacle on television: the semi-finals are shown on ARD One, the final in the main program. In addition, the entire ESC can be streamed live in the ARD media library and up eurovision.de be tracked. This year’s motto is “United by Music” and is a sign of the partnership between Great Britain and Ukraine.
- First semi-final: May 9, 2023 | 21 clock
- Second semi-final: May 11, 2023 | 21 clock
- final: May 13, 2023 | 21 clock
The participants in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023
This year’s ESC has a total of 37 participants. The organizers have invited Russia and Belarus because of the war of aggression against Ukraine. Montenegro, North Macedonia and Bulgaria, who were there last year, are not taking part this year. Hungary and Turkey are also not sending any acts to the start. Six countries are already seeded for the finals: EBU backers Germany, Italy, Spain, France and the UK, as well as last year’s contest winner Ukraine. The remaining participants must qualify for the final round via the semi-finals. Ten artists each make it into the final of the Eurovision Song Contest.
There is also an innovation in the voting for the preliminary round: From this year onwards, only the spectator voting counts in the semi-finals. Previously, the expert jury also had a say. This is limited to the final in 2023.
Here is the starting field:
The German representatives: Lord of the Lost
Germany will be represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 by the rock band Lord of the Lost. With their song “Blood & Glitter” the Hamburgers join a tradition of successful ESC shows: extravagant costumes and loud music. The group, led by Chris “The Lord” Harms, supported Iron Maiden’s “Legacy of the Beast” tour last year, gaining international attention. In 2010 the dark rockers made their debut with their record FEARS. Since then, the five musician friends have released nine more studio albums. Most recently, BLOOD & GLITTER was released, which reached number one in the German charts.
The moderation team
Julia Sanina, Graham Norton, Hannah Waddingham and Alesha Dixon will host live at the venue. According to the BBC, all four moderators will accompany the final, for the semi-finals they will split into groups of two. Timur Miroshnychenko, the Ukrainian ESC moderator, will also be there.