King Charles will open Eurovision-2023 in Liverpool
King Charles III and Queen Camilla will unveil the staging for this year’s Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool next week, it has been announced.
The royal couple will be given a tour of the M&S Bank Arena and meet the event’s creative teams and celebrity presenters.
On Wednesday 26 April, Charles and Camilla will be met at the arena by BBC director general Tim Davie, BBC director of content Charlotte Moore and managing director for BBC Eurovision 2023 Martin Green.
The couple will also be introduced to Eurovision hosts Julia Sanina, Hannah Waddingham, Scott Mills and Rylan Clark, before meeting with this year’s UK entrant, Mae Muller.
This year’s Eurovision final is taking place on Saturday 13 May, a week after Charles and Camilla are crowned in the coronation ceremony at Westminster.
Liverpool was chosen as this year’s Eurovision host city after 2022 winner Ukraine, represented by Kalush Orchestra, announced it wuld be unable to host due to the ongoing invasion by Russia.
It was decided that the televised competition would take place in the UK after contestant Sam Ryder came second place with his song “Space Man”.
This will be the first time Eurovision has been held in the UK since 1998.
Charles and Camilla’s visit is one of several royal engagements scheduled to be carried out in Liverpool, recognising the cultural partnership of the UK and Ukraine and celebrating Eurovision.
The semi-finals will go ahead on Tuesday 9 and Thursday 11 May, with 31 of the 37 competitors battling it out to go through to the grand final on Saturday 13 May. The Big Five countries (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom) plus Ukraine will automatically qualify.