Eurovision 2023: Here's the trailer, logo and slogan as Liverpool officially takes over

Virgin Radio

31 Jan 2023, 21:54

The Eurovision Song Contest is on its merry, musical way and Liverpool is flying the flag for both the UK and Ukraine with the slogan 'United by Music'. The unveiled logo combines the colours of both countries after the UK was chosen to host Eurovision on behalf of the 2022 winners due to the war.

The artwork features hearts beating together using the typeface 'Penny Lane' honouring Liverpool’s legendary music history, with the BBC saying it ‘reflects the very origins of the contest’.

The mayor of last year’s host city, Turin, handed over ‘the keys’ to The Eurovision Song Contest and said: “Enjoy the event, include everybody and try to engage as much as possible the whole city because it’s a brilliant city, really very good vibes and so I think Eurovision Song Contest 2023 in Liverpool will be exploding in a very, very nice way.”

The semi finals have been announced by Rylan Clark and AJ Odudu at St George’s Hall in the city, and going up against Ireland will be Serbia, Latvia, Norway, Portugal, Croatia, Malta, Sweden, Moldova, Switzerland, Israel, the Netherlands, Finland, Azerbaijan and the Czech Republic.

Semi-final two will see Armenia, Cyprus, Romania, Denmark, Belgium, Iceland, Greece, Estonia, Albania, Australia, Austria, Lithuania, San Marino, Slovenia, Georgia and Poland battle it out.

Mayor of Liverpool Joanne Anderson said: “It started on Sunday when I met the mayor of Turin and he was talking about the fantastic economic impact that Eurovision had had on his city and that’s when it became very real for me.

“So tonight it starts, it kicks off and we’ve got a busy couple of months ahead of us. Everything that we’re doing is about Eurovision and it’s extremely exciting.

“I’m overwhelmed by how supportive everyone’s been from the time we’ve gone for the bid, everybody’s been so supportive, and yeah there’s so much darkness in the world right now and what’s going on in Ukraine, this is a real opportunity to just focus on hope and positivity.”

Eurovision commentator Timur Miroshnychenko said: “Eurovision is love, music and diversity," while Eurovision’s Managing Director Martin Green added: “The Eurovision Song Contest will be a truly special event and the creative look is a big part of creating that magic.”

Superunion’s Executive Creative Director, Stuart Radford, and Creative Director, Katherina Tudball shared: "We are thrilled to create the 67th Eurovision Song Contest.

"For this year's theme, United By Music, our solution was inspired by research showing that when experiencing live music together, human hearts synchronise to beat in unison.

"This insight led to the creative concept of 160 million hearts beating as one, an idea that captures the universal spirit of Eurovision.

“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.”

There will be two semi-finals: Tuesday 9 May and Thursday 11 May, with the grand final taking place on Saturday 13 May at 8pm on BBC One.

There are nine Eurovision shows in total: each of the semi-finals and the final has one jury show (where international juries vote in advance), a family show in the day and the live TV show.

Organisers have advised it will be easier to get tickets for the jury and family shows. Check out Eurovision website for more details.

The EBU has announced that everyone watching the show this year across the globe can vote online for their favourite song and only votes from viewers will decide which countries make it to the finals.

In other Euro news, did you know former Sex Pistols star John Lydon is competing to represent Ireland with his band Public Image Ltd with a song dedicated to Lydon’s wife Nora who has Alzheimer’s?