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Eurovision 2023: Liverpool hosts handover ceremony and semi-final draw

Reuters The Mayor of Liverpool Joanne Anderson and the Mayor of Turin Stefano Lo Russo pose for a picture during the Insignia Exchange where 2022 hosts, Turin, officially hand over the Eurovision Keys to Liverpool, in Liverpool, Britain, January 31, 2023.Reuters
Turin mayor Stefano Lo Russo handed over the symbolic Eurovision key to Liverpool mayor Joanne Anderson

Eurovision fever has hit Liverpool, with an official handover ceremony and the semi-final draw taking place in the city ahead of this year's song contest.

The mayor of last year's host city, Turin, handed over the symbolic Eurovision key to his Liverpool counterpart, Joanne Anderson.

Thirty-one countries were given spots in the two semi-finals, with the grand final to be held on 13 May.

The UK is hosting the event on behalf of last year's winners, Ukraine.

The semi-finals will take place at the city's M&S Bank Arena on 9 and 11 May, with the 31 countries whittled down to 20 by the public in a change to the rules.

A table showing the line-up of countries taking part in semi-final 1 of Eurovision 2023, on 9 May 2023. The countries are: Azerbaijan, Croatia, Czech Republic, Finland, Ireland, Israel, Latvia, Malta, Moldova, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Serbia, Sweden and Switzerland.
A table showing the line-up of countries taking part in semi-final 2 of Eurovision 2023, on 11 May 2023. The countries are: Albania, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Georgia, Greece, Iceland, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, San Marino and Slovenia.

The UK, France, Spain, Germany and Italy automatically qualify for the grand final because of how much their broadcasters pay to take part, while Ukraine will also go straight to the final as 2022 winners.

The previous year's victors normally stage the next event, but Ukraine was unable to take up hosting duties because of the war, and the UK was chosen after Sam Ryder came second.

Table showing key dates in the build-up to Eurovision 2023. 11 February: Super Saturday - seven countries choose their entry. Late February: Tickets expected to go on sale. Early March: UK entry expected to be confirmed. End of March: All songs available for public to stream. April: Opening and interval performers for the final announced. 9 May: First semi-final. 11 May: Second semi-final. 13 May: Eurovision final.

Tuesday's televised handover ceremony was staged at the city's St George's Hall, hosted by Rylan Clark and AJ Odudu.

Turin mayor Stefano Lo Russo said to Ms Anderson: "A little bit of advice - enjoy the event; include everybody; engage the whole city; be proud for such an incredible international stage for you, for Ukraine and for peace."

She thanked him, adding: "For me, it started on Sunday when we met and you talked about all the wonderful impact that Eurovision has had on your city.

"I'm really proud to be able to host Eurovision for Liverpool, but especially proud to do it on behalf of Ukraine."

The rundown on the 2023 contest in 50 seconds

The ceremony came after this year's Eurovision slogan was revealed - "United in music" - along with official artwork showing hearts beating together, incorporating the colours of the Ukrainian and UK flags.

The BBC said that "reflects the very origins of the contest", which was originally created as a broadcasting experiment to bring Europe together.

Who pays for Eurovision?

Liverpool City Council and the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority will pay around £4m between them towards putting on events outside the arena.

There will be events across Liverpool - including a fan park with big screens for those unable to get tickets to the nine shows (including rehearsal performances) during Eurovision week.

The main bulk of the budget for the world's most-watched live music event will fall to the BBC as host broadcaster - an estimated cost of between £8m and £17m.

Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan has also confirmed that the UK government will contribute, but has not said how much.

The competing countries - through their national broadcasters - also pay an entry fee.

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Revealing the logo, Martin Green, managing director of the event for the BBC, said: "This year's identity sums up perfectly the amazing partnerships across the contest and, more importantly, the power of music to bring people together across the world."

All the build-up, insights and analysis will be explored each week on a new BBC podcast called Eurovisioncast.

Eurovisioncast is available on BBC Sounds, or search wherever you get your podcasts from.

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