The Eurovision Song Contest 2023 was the 67th annual edition and was held at the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool, United Kingdom. The 2 semifinals were held on 9 and 11 May 2023, with the grand final on 13 May 2023.
Kalush Orchestra won for Ukraine in Turin the previous year. However, given the country's situation with Russia as well as concerns about safety, security and the intense production process, the EBU announced in a statement on 17 June 2022 that it would be impossible for the 2023 contest to be held in Ukraine.[1][2]
After negotiations with the BBC as runner-up, it was announced by the EBU on 25 July 2022 that the United Kingdom would take charge of hosting the event on Ukraine's behalf. It is the 9th time that the United Kingdom hosted the contest (5th by deferral from the winning country), and the first time since 1980 that another country had to step in because the previous year's winner was unable to do so in some capacity. Ukrainian broadcaster Suspilne co-operated with the BBC in developing elements of Ukrainian culture for the event. Additionally, as defending champion Ukraine was given automatic qualification for the final along with the Big Five.
37 countries participated, tying 2014 for the lowest number of participating countries in recent years. Bulgaria, Montenegro and North Macedonia all withdrew. As of this contest, Czech Republic now competes under the name of "Czechia".
Croatia qualified from the semifinals for the first time since 2017, while Austria qualified for the first time since 2018. The Netherlands failed to qualify for only the second time since its 2013 revival.
Sweden was the winner with Tattoo by Loreen. With this victory, Sweden now ties Ireland for most wins with 7, with Loreen becoming the second artist to win the contest twice, as well as the first female artist to do so. Peter Bostrom and Thomas G:son also joined the club of writers who have composed 2 winning songs. Finland finished in 2nd place (their best result since their win in 2006) with Israel finishing 3rd (their best result since their win in 2018). Italy and Norway rounded out the top 5.
About 20 cities across the three nations and one province of the UK expressed their interest to host the contest. On 27 September 2022, the shortlist of 7 was reduced to 2 finalists: Glasgow and Liverpool, with Liverpool being announced as host city on The One Show on 7 October 2022. Birmingham (host of 1998), Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield were the other cities shortlisted.
162 million viewers watched the 2023 contest, with 144 countries around the world (including the 37 participant countries) casting their votes during all 3 shows.
Format[]
Pre-Recorded Backing Tracks[]
For the third year in a row, the EBU allowed pre-recorded backing tracks to be used by delegations. All lead and featured (classified in the rules as "lead dubs") vocals would continue to be required to be performed live, however playback (lip-syncing) was prohibited. Delegations would be able to use live backing vocals on or off stage if they so desired.
Voting[]
A change in the voting format was announced for the 2023 contest on 22 November 2022, likely as a result of the fallout from the second semifinal jury voting scandal the year before. The 50:50 split vote between juries and televote would remain for the final, however the semifinal qualifiers would be decided by televote only. In the event that a country's televote fails during the semifinals, juries would still be used as a backup.
Additionally, viewers in non-participating countries would also be able to vote via a secure online platform (esc.vote) in all 3 shows which would be aggregated and make up a new set of televotes classified as "Rest of the World". This vote would count as one extra country. Australia and Israel also voted via this platform.
Presenters[]
The presenters were revealed on 22 February 2022. It consisted of TV presenter and Britain's Got Talent judge Alesha Dixon, Ted Lasso actress Hannah Waddingham, and Ukrainian singer Julia Sanina (lead singer of the band The Hardkiss). Joining the trio for the Grand Final was United Kingdom commentator Graham Norton, who presented the voting results alongside Waddingham.
2017 co-presenter and longtime Ukrainian commentator Timur Miroshnychenko hosted the Opening Ceremony alongside BBC Sports comentator and Olympic Champion in field hockey Sam Quek. Miroshnychenko was also the one of the bridges between the United Kingdom and Ukraine as a special correspondent during all three shows.
All shows in the United Kingdom aired on BBC One featuring commentary by Scott Mills and Rylan for the semifinals. Mel Giedroyc joined Graham for the final. On BBC Radio 2, Paddy O'Connell handled commentary for the semifinals, with Scott and Rylan covering the final. Melanie Chisholm (aka Mel C) from the Spice Girls, who is from the Liverpool area, introduced the presenters for all three live shows.
The ESC 2023 hosting team (l-r) Sam Quek, Mel Giedroyc, Rylan, Julia Sanina, Graham Norton, Hannah Waddingham, Alesha Dixon, Scott Mills and Timur Miroshnychenko
Theme[]
The theme for 2023 is United by Music. It demonstrates the partnership between the United Kingdom and Ukraine to bring the power of music to people around the world and unite them. In a way, it highlights the original purpose of the Eurovision Song Contest: to bring people together through music in difficult times.
The theme art is based on the electrocardiogram, created in a collaboration between British and Ukrainian artists. It is a string of hearts reacting to rhythm and sound, illustrating the collective heartbeat of the participating countries as well as the fans.
The stage concept, designed by salvadorean New York-based designer Julio Himede, is based on the principles of community, togetherness and celebration. King Charles III and Queen Camilla turned on the lights in a special ceremony on 26 April 2023.
Special Features[]
Two one-off TV documentaries were produced to celebrate the 2023 contest. The first, titled The Greatest Show on Earth, celebrates 25 years since Eurovision was last held in the United Kingdom and includes archival footage, in-depth interviews, a sneak peek behind the curtain to see how the 2023 contest comes together, and Ukraine's legacy. The second, titled And The Winner Isn't, looks at the success of past Eurovision contestants who didn't win, but went on to successful careers.
Timur Miroshnychenko presented a series of TikTok videos titled "Tea with Timur", where he interviewed the artists backstage following their second rehearsals about their performances and their experiences during the contest. The automatic qualifiers (aside from Ukraine and the United Kingdom) drew their grand final allocation spots during this series.
Postcards[]
Produced in collaboration by British company Windfall Films and Ukrainian company 23/32, the pre-song-postcards expanded on the "United by Music" theme. Each postcard began with a scene from a location in Ukraine, followed by a similar-themed location in the United Kingdom. Finally, each artist appeared at a location in their home country with similar schemes.
Incidents[]
Failed attempt at new qualifier format[]
A new format to reveal the qualifiers was trialed during the first dress rehearsal for the first semi-final. In this format, all the artists would be standing on stage together in a situation similar to what happens on several reality shows such as X Factor, The Voice or Idols. When in their places, the 5 first qualifiers would be announced, then following interviews with Alesha, 4 more would be announced followed by a split-screen to reveal the final qualifier, with the eliminated acts exiting the stage. Following critical concerns from fans and a unsuccessful test run during the rehearsal, the EBU released a statement that it would scrap this results format and revert back to the normal format where each qualifying country celebrates with their team in the green room.
Conspiracy theories regarding Sweden[]
After her act was over, and she was filmed offstage, Loreen produced very odd behavior that was commented on. This was also seen in her interview just before the final votes were in. There were also rumors about fixing, due to the fact that 2024 is the 50th anniversary of ABBA in Eurovision, and as a Swedish band, it would be ideal to be held in Sweden.
Others have argued that overwhelming jury bias contributed to Loreen's victory. Some digital media outlets have said that she gave a less than perfect performance in the jury final, yet she still received 15 sets of 12-point scores with a total jury score of almost double of that of her nearest rival (Noa Kirel) while not receiving a single top score from the televote.
Participants[]
The semi-final allocation draw was held on 31 January 2023 at St. George's Hall, and hosted by AJ Odudu and Rylan Clark-Neal. The insignia handover ceremony took place before the draw begins, officially beginning the countdown to the contest.
The pots were as follows, calculated by the EBU's voting providers Digame and based on voting patterns over the past 19 years:
| Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 | Pot 4 | Pot 5 | Finalists |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Albania Austria Croatia Serbia Slovenia Switzerland
|
 Australia Denmark Estonia Finland Iceland Norway Sweden
|
 Armenia Azerbaijan Georgia Israel Latvia Lithuania
|
 Cyprus Greece Ireland Malta Portugal San Marino
|
 Belgium Czechia Moldova The Netherlands Poland Romania
|
 France Germany Italy Spain Ukraine United Kingdom (Host)
|
Pre-Allocations[]
No pre-allocation requests were made this year.
Returning Artists[]
| Artist(s) | Previous Year(s) |
|---|---|
| Gustaph | 2018 (backing for Sennek), 2021 (backing for Hooverphonic) |
| Iru Khechanovi | JESC 2011 (winner, member of CANDY) |
| Marco Mengoni | 2013 |
| Monika Linkytė | 2015 (with Vaidas Baumila) |
| Pasha Parfeny | 2012 |
| Loreen | 2012 (winner) |
Languages[]
Cha Cha Cha is the first Finnish-language song since 2015, and the first Finnish-language song to qualify for the final since 2008.- Évidemment brought the French language back to the contest after a year's absence
- Duje contains lyrics in Gheg Albanian, a first for the contest
- My Sister's Crown contains lyrics in 4 different languages: English, Czech, Ukrainian and Bulgarian
- Soarele şi Luna is the first Moldovan entry to be performed fully in Romanian since 2013
- Queen of Kings features an expression in Latin and some phrases in Italian, emphasizing Alessandra's Italian heritage.
Gallery[]
Semi Final One[]
France, Germany and Italy, plus 
Rest of the World, voted in this semi. It took place on 9 May 2023.
| Draw | Country | Artist | Song | Language | Translation | Place | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Norway
|
Alessandra | Queen of Kings | English | -- | 6 | 102 |
| 02 | Malta
|
The Busker | Dance (Our Own Party) | 15 | 3 | ||
| 03 | Serbia
|
Luke Black | Samo mi se spava | English, Serbian | I'm just sleepy | 10 | 37 |
| 04 | Latvia
|
Sudden Lights | Aijā | English, Latvian | Come on | 11 | 34 |
| 05 | Portugal
|
Mimicat | Ai Coração | Portuguese | Oh heart | 9 | 74 |
| 06 | Ireland
|
Wild Youth | We Are One | English | -- | 12 | 10 |
| 07 | Croatia
|
Let 3 | Mama ŠČ! | Croatian | 8 | 76 | |
| 08 | Switzerland
|
Remo Forrer | Watergun | English | 7 | 97 | |
| 09 | Israel
|
Noa Kirel | Unicorn | English, Hebrew | 3 | 127 | |
| 10 | Moldova
|
Pasha Parfeny | Soarele şi Luna | Romanian | Sun and moon | 5 | 109 |
| 11 | Sweden
|
Loreen | Tattoo | English | -- | 2 | 135 |
| 12 | Azerbaijan
|
TuralTuranX | Tell Me More | 14 | 4 | ||
| 13 | Czechia
|
Vesna | My Sister's Crown | English, Czech, Ukrainian, Bulgarian | 4 | 110 | |
| 14 | The Netherlands
|
Mia & Dion | Burning Daylight | English | 13 | 7 | |
| 15 | Finland
|
Käärijä | Cha Cha Cha | Finnish | 1 | 177 |
Semi Final Two[]
Spain, Ukraine and United Kingdom, plus Rest of the World, voted in this semi. It took place on 11 May 2023
| Draw | Country | Artist | Song | Language | Translation | Place | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Denmark
|
Reiley | Breaking My Heart | English | -- | 14 | 6 |
| 02 | Armenia
|
Brunette | Future Lover | English, Armenian | 6 | 99 | |
| 03 | Romania
|
Theodor Andrei | D.G.T. (Off and On) | English, Romanian | 15 | 0 | |
| 04 | Estonia
|
Alika | Bridges | English | 10 | 74 | |
| 05 | Belgium
|
Gustaph | Because Of You | 8 | 90 | ||
| 06 | Cyprus
|
Andrew Lambrou | Break a Broken Heart | 7 | 94 | ||
| 07 | Iceland
|
Diljá | Power | 11 | 44 | ||
| 08 | Greece
|
Victor Vernicos | What They Say | 13 | 14 | ||
| 09 | Poland
|
Blanka | Solo | 3 | 124 | ||
| 10 | Slovenia
|
Joker Out | Carpe Diem | Slovene | Seize the day | 5 | 103 |
| 11 | Georgia
|
Iru | Echo | English | -- | 12 | 33 |
| 12 | San Marino
|
Piqued Jacks | Like an Animal | 16 | 0 | ||
| 13 | Austria
|
Teya & Salena | Who the Hell is Edgar? | 2 | 137 | ||
| 14 | Albania
|
Albina & Familja Kelmendi | Duje | Albanian | Love it | 9 | 83 |
| 15 | Lithuania
|
Monika Linkytė | Stay | English, Lithuanian | -- | 4 | 110 |
| 16 | Australia
|
Voyager | Promise | English | 1 | 149 |
Grand Final[]
All participating countries voted, with the Rest of the World aggregate vote added as an extra set of televotes. The final took place on 13 May 2023. The United Kingdom and Ukraine's places in the running order were decided via a random draw during the Head of Delegations meetings in March 2023.
| Draw | Country | Artist | Song | Language | Translation | Place | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Austria
|
Teya & Salena | Who the Hell is Edgar? | English | -- | 15 | 120 |
| 02 | Portugal
|
Mimicat | Ai Coração | Portuguese | Oh heart | 23 | 59 |
| 03 | Switzerland
|
Remo Forrer | Watergun | English | -- | 20 | 92 |
| 04 | Poland
|
Blanka | Solo | 19 | 93 | ||
| 05 | Serbia
|
Luke Black | Samo mi se spava | English, Serbian | I'm just sleepy | 24 | 30 |
| 06 | France
|
La Zarra | Évidemment | French | Obviously | 16 | 104 |
| 07 | Cyprus
|
Andrew Lambrou | Break a Broken Heart | English | -- | 12 | 126 |
| 08 | Spain
|
Blanca Paloma | Eaea | Spanish | 17 | 100 | |
| 09 | Sweden
|
Loreen | Tattoo | English | 1 | 583 | |
| 10 | Albania
|
Albina & Familja Kelmendi | Duje | Albanian | Love it | 22 | 76 |
| 11 | Italy
|
Marco Mengoni | Due vite | Italian | Two lives | 4 | 350 |
| 12 | Estonia
|
Alika | Bridges | English | -- | 8 | 168 |
| 13 | Finland
|
Käärijä | Cha Cha Cha | Finnish | 2 | 526 | |
| 14 | Czechia
|
Vesna | My Sister's Crown | English, Ukrainian, Czech, Bulgarian | 10 | 129 | |
| 15 | Australia
|
Voyager | Promise | English | 9 | 151 | |
| 16 | Belgium
|
Gustaph | Because Of You | 7 | 182 | ||
| 17 | Armenia
|
Brunette | Future Lover | English, Armenian | 14 | 122 | |
| 18 | Moldova
|
Pasha Parfeny | Soarele şi Luna | Romanian | Sun and moon | 18 | 96 |
| 19 | Ukraine
|
Tvorchi | Heart of Steel | English, Ukrainian | -- | 6 | 243 |
| 20 | Norway
|
Alessandra | Queen of Kings | English | 5 | 268 | |
| 21 | Germany
|
Lord of the Lost | Blood and Glitter | 26 | 18 | ||
| 22 | Lithuania
|
Monika Linkytė | Stay | English, Lithuanian | 11 | 127 | |
| 23 | Israel
|
Noa Kirel | Unicorn | English, Hebrew | 3 | 362 | |
| 24 | Slovenia
|
Joker Out | Carpe Diem | Slovene | Seize the day | 21 | 78 |
| 25 | Croatia
|
Let 3 | Mama ŠČ! | Croatian | -- | 13 | 123 |
| 26 | United Kingdom
|
Mae Muller | I Wrote a Song | English | 25 | 24 |
Withdrawing/Unknown[]
- Andorra - RTVA confirmed on 27 May 2022 that Andorra would not return for 2023.
- Belarus - BTRC is currently suspended by the EBU following their disqualification from the 2021 contest.
- Bosnia and Herzegovina - BHRT confirmed on 14 October 2022 that Bosnia and Herzegovina would not return for 2023 due to ongoing financial problems. It did not air the 2023 contest.
- Bulgaria - BNT withdrew on 14 October 2022 citing financial issues and lack of interest in the contest.
- Kazakhstan - Khabar Agency was not given an invitation to participate, therefore Kazakhstan did not debut in 2023. It did not air the contest on TV.
- Kosovo - RTK is currently ineligible to participate in Eurovision. The broadcaster had aimed to apply for EBU membership by the end of 2022, therefore the earliest Kosovo could debut if membership is approved is 2024. RTK aired all three shows of the 2023 contest.
- Liechtenstein - 1FL TV confirmed on 9 August 2022 that they would no longer seek EBU membership, therefore Liechtenstein is ineligible to participate at Eurovision.
- Luxembourg - RTL confirmed on 2 August 2022 that Luxembourg would not return for 2023, citing its continued primary focus on news and current affairs programming. On 12 May 2023, the broadcaster announced that the country would return in 2024 after a 30-year absence.
- Monaco - TMC confirmed on 5 September 2022 that Monaco would not return for 2023. TVMonaco (MCRTV) is set for a 1 September 2023 launch, so a return in 2024 is possible if full EBU membership is granted by the end of 2023.
- Montenegro - Despite their initial confirmation, RTCG announced on 13 October 2022 that Montenegro would withdraw from the 2023 contest citing financial issues. It still aired the contest on TVCG 2.
- North Macedonia - MRT confirmed on 14 October 2022 that North Macedonia would not participate in the 2023 contest citing financial issues. They had originally threatened withdrawal following an incident at the 2022 opening ceremony where Andrea threw a small Macedonian flag to the floor while posing for photographs with the media. It would still air the contest.
- Russia - Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the EBU formally suspended the memberships of broadcasters C1R, VGTRK and Radio Dom Ostankino in May of 2022. Like Belarusian broadcaster BTRC, Russia cannot participate in any Eurovision event as long as the suspension is in place, including the 2023 contest and the 2022 Junior Eurovision contest in Armenia.
- Slovakia - RTVS confirmed on 10 June 2022 that Slovakia would not return for 2023 citing financial concerns and low viewership. However, following the election of a new director general for the broadcaster, they clarified that there was a chance the country could return. The contest was broadcast on Radio FM.
Other Countries[]
- The contest aired in Brazil via the official YouTube live streams.
- After Omni Television lost the Canadian broadcast rights to Eurovision in 2022, the official YouTube channel of the contest allowed fans in Canada to watch the live streams of all three shows without commentary.
- Canal 13 aired the grand final in Chile, marking the contest's return to the Chilean airwaves since its last airing in 1970.
- KVF aired all three shows in the Faroe Islands using DR's commentary.
- A special team provided additional commentary on BBC Radio Merseyside consisting of Claire Sweeney and "The Voice of Eurovision" talent search winner Paul Quinn.
- NBC's streaming service Peacock aired all three shows in the United States including two editions of the Grand Final: one without commentary and one "Watch With Live" featuring commentary by Johnny Weir.
Trivia[]
- This contest marked the first time...
- none of the competing songs included a key change, a defining gimmick of contest entries.
- all three live shows aired in the United Kingdom on BBC One (the semifinals usually air on BBC Three). The semifinal allocation draw aired live on BBC Two.
- Iceland participated in a contest hosted by the United Kingdom, as they were relegated in 1998 - the last time the UK hosted the event.
- all participating ex-Yugoslav nations qualified since the introduction of the semifinal.
- Serbia and Croatia both qualified after performing in the same semifinal.
- Armenia qualified for the final without Azerbaijan.
- a country scored Nul Points overall in the semifinal since 2009 (both Romania and San Marino fell victim in semifinal 2).
- The 2023 contest was technically the first contest that one broadcaster hosted on behalf of another broadcaster (in this case, the BBC hosting on behalf of Suspilne). All previous deferrals were because the broadcaster of the previous year's winning country mainly did not have the resources to fund the event (ex: Monaco deferring to the UK in 1972 as TMC was a small broadcaster) .
- All returning artists in the semifinals with the exception of Georgia qualified for the final.
- 18 different languages were represented among the 26 acts in the final.
- For the 4th consecutive contest, Germany finished in the bottom 2, but managed to break a 3-edition streak of receiving 0 points from one side of the vote (2019 and 2021 with the public, 2022 with the jury).
- For the 3rd consecutive contest, the country that placed 4th with the jury (Italy in 2021, Ukraine in 2022 and Finland in 2023) won the public vote. However, it is the first time that country did not win the contest overall.
- It was the final contest for longtime German commentator Peter Urban, who retired from the position after 25 years.
- Dutch co-commentator Jan Smit also stepped down from his position after 10 years.
- In both semifinals, the song which was closing the show won the semi overall.
- Canada, the United States, Kosovo, Luxembourg, Mexico, New Zealand, Chile, Slovakia, Hungary, Türkiye and the United Arab Emirates cast the most votes among the eligible Rest of the World countries on the esc.vote platform.
- At age 60, Graham Norton is the second-oldest presenter in contest history, behind Léon Zitrone who was 63 when he hosted the 1978 contest in Paris.
- Members of the Royal Family made cameo appearances during the contest. King Charles III and Queen Camilla appeared in the "Welcome to Liverpool" opening video during the first semifinal, while Catherine, Princess of Wales, appeared during the "Voices of a New Generation" opening for the grand final playing part of Stefania on the piano.
- The event won three BAFTA Television Awards in 2024, including Best Live Event Coverage, Best Director (Multi-Camera) and Best Entertainment Craft Team. It also earned a nomination for co-presenter Hannah Waddingham for Best Entertainment Performance.