Liverpool set for Eurovision Song Contest final, with Sweden favored and Ukraine in spotlight

What has a Swedish diva, a Finnish rapper who loves pina coladas, Croatian agit-rockers, and an Austrian duet possessed by a long-dead writer? It had to be Eurovision.

Liverpool hosts Saturday’s pan-continental pop music competition grand final. This year’s theme, “united by music,” combines the spirit of Liverpool, the birthplace of The Beatles, with that of war-torn Ukraine.

“I’ve never seen a city embrace Eurovision as much as Liverpool,” remarked Steve Holden, host of the official Eurovision Song Contest podcast. It’s citywide. Every pub, shop, and bar carries the Ukrainian flag. There’s a party vibe.

The evening will commence with Kalush Orchestra, the Ukrainian folk-rap band that won the 2022 competition with its lyrical and defiant song “Stefania.” Britain is hosting the event for Ukraine, which won last year.

Ukrainian Eurovision competitors Jamala, Tina Karol, and Verka Serduchka will sing when finalist nations enter in an Olympics-style flag procession. Sam Ryder, who placed second last year, and a group of Eurovision greats will perform famous Liverpool tunes.

Then, 26 acts will have three minutes to wow millions of spectators with captivating songs and eye-popping spectacle. Swedish singer Loreen, the 2012 Eurovision winner, and Finland’s Käärijä, who goes from metal growler to sweet crooner on party anthem “Cha Cha Cha,” are the favorites.

“Mama Š}!” by Croatia’s Let 3, who often perform in their underwear, and Austrian duo Teya & Salena’s “Who the Hell is Edgar?”, an ode to Edgar Allen Poe that criticizes streaming service royalties, are on the offbeat side.

Rock is surprisingly highly represented at a tournament that favors cheery music. Joker Out, Lord of the Lost, and Voyager all play guitar.

Tvorchi, an electronica duo from reigning champion Ukraine, may pay tribute to the country’s strength with “Heart of Steel.” Mae Muller’s breakup song “I Wrote a Song” represents Britain.

The arena will hold 6,000 supporters, while tens of thousands more will watch in a Eurovision fan zone near Liverpool’s docks and at big-screen events around the UK. 160 million watch TV worldwide.

Despite rejecting President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s request to make a video speech, spectators will be reminded of Russia’s deadly invasion of Ukraine during the musical celebration. The EBU claimed such would violate “the nonpolitical nature of the event.”

Each act hopes to avoid the humiliation of “nul points” in Eurovision’s intricate jury and public vote system.

Eurovision, founded in 1956, has spawned successes like ABBA and Celine Dion as well as career failures.

It launched stars again in recent years. In 2021, Italian rock band Måneskin won and opened for the Rolling Stones. Ryder played Glastonbury and had a No. 1 album.

“People know the value of stepping on that stage to 160 million people, knowing that they could go huge,” Holden remarked. “ABBA did it in the 1970s, then it went quiet and wasn’t seen as the launchpad it is now. Now, the music industry and the world know that Eurovision might be great.”

Eurovision was long considered a guilty pleasure, notably in the U.K., where years of dismal results were blamed on geopolitics and Brexit rather than the poor quality of British entrants.

Ryder’s 2022 second-place result restored Eurovision’s status in Britain.

Graham Norton, who will anchor the final with “Ted Lasso” star Hannah Waddingham, British singer Alesha Dixon, and Ukrainian rock sensation Julia Sanina, stated Eurovision is no longer a joke.

“There was always kind of a nostalgic thing, a kitschy thing, a campy thing—and there’s a little bit of that left but, actually, now it’s just a bunch of great pop songs,” he told reporters.