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As you are probably aware, in May 2023 there is a major global event taking place in the UK. And no, we don’t mean the coronation!
It is, of course, Eurovision 2023!
Just in case you have somehow missed it, this year the UK is hosting Eurovision. It will all take place in the Liverpool Arena just next to the River Mersey. The semi finals are on Tuesday 9th and Thursday 11th May, with the Grand Final on Saturday 13th May.
Eurovision is a little “marmite” in that you either love it or hate it. Some of us just can’t see the appeal at all, whereas others are avid followers and wouldn’t miss it for the world. And if you’re a fan of Eurovision, you may even be planning to host a Eurovision party for family and friends.
So in this article we take a quick look at:
The Eurovision Song Contest started back in 1956 in Switzerland. It was launched by the EBU – European Broadcasting Union – as part of an initiative to promote cross-border television broadcasts in the aftermath of the Second World War.
Eurovision started small with only seven countries taking part – Belgium, France, West Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands and Switzerland. Each country was allowed two songs, and the first winning song was one of the Swiss entries, a song called Refrain sung by Lys Assia.
Since then, the Eurovision Song Contest has gradually grown and become a focus for increased cooperation and goodwill between European countries. 66 contests have been held, 52 countries have taken part, and over 1,600 songs have been performed. The most frequent winners are Ireland with 7 wins, followed by Sweden with 6, and the UK, France, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands with 5 each.
The UK has won Eurovision five times so far. The winning songs and artists have been:
The UK was also the runner up in 2022 with Sam Ryder’s Space Man. The UK is hosting the contest in 2023 on behalf of the winners Ukraine, who are unable to do so because of the ongoing war in their country.
Participation in the contest is primarily open to all active members of the EBU. This means they need to either be a country that is covered by the European Broadcasting Area or a member of the Council of Europe. If they meet these criteria they do not have to be located within the continent of Europe, and there is no direct connection with the European Union.
Some examples of participating countries that are geographically outside the boundaries of Europe are Armenia, Cyprus, Israel and Morocco. Australia also currently has an honorary place. However, Russia is currently excluded by the EBU from the Eurovision Song Contest due to the war with Ukraine.
In 2023, a total of 37 countries will participate in the contest, with 25 of those appearing in the final. Italy, Germany, France, Spain and the UK are already pre-qualified for the final, as are the winners of last year’s contest, Ukraine.
31 countries will initially appear in one of the two semi finals, with 10 places in the final up for grabs in each. The lineups for the semi finals are:
This year the UK will be represented by Mae Muller, with I Wrote a Song.
For both the semi-finals and the final, there is now a split voting system with two rounds:
Viewers around the world can vote by phone, text or the Eurovision app. In the UK, voting is also available via the BBC website. Voters are not allowed to vote for their own country.
A new development for 2023 is that viewers watching in eligible countries that are not participating in this year’s competition will also be able to vote via a new Eurovision Song Contest voting hub.
The ten most overall popular acts from each country all receive points. The top three acts get 12, 10 and 8 points respectively, and the remaining 7 acts get from 7 points for 4th place down to 1 point for 10th place.
At the end of the public vote, each country’s total is then announced on air.
Each participating country also has a jury, which decides its top 10. Points are awarded in the same way as the viewer votes.
The public and jury votes are then added together to give each country their final score.
If you are a big Eurovision fan, why not host a party for the final to enjoy the experience with family and friends? Here are five tips on how to save money yet still host the best Eurovision party ever!
We hope that this article has given you some ideas about how to enjoy the Eurovision Song Contest this year and how to save money on a party if you are planning to have one.
Check back here with us soon for more helpful lifestyle and financial tips from Loans 2 Go.
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