This year, the Eurovision Song Contest is being held in Liverpool, England, on behalf of Ukraine, which was unable to organize the contest due to the war. Learn more about the interesting moments of the organization and features of the main song contest in Europe

Eurovision is the largest song contest in Europe. Millions of people from all over the world watch with delight the spectacle of extravagant performances and exciting costumes. This year the event is being held in Great Britain, for the first time since 1998.

Interesting facts about the contest and features of this year's Eurovision in our material.

History of the Eurovision Song Contest

The international Eurovision Song Contest gathers participants from different countries of Europe and even beyond.

The event was first held in 1956. The competition was created by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) with the aim of unity and cultural exchange between European countries after the Second World War. The first competition was held in Lugano, Switzerland and only seven countries participated.

Since then, the competition has grown to include more than 40 countries, with some participants even located outside of Europe, such as Israel and Australia. The rules state that eligibility is independent of geographic location or EU membership. Non-European countries can participate if they have a broadcaster working in Europe. Israel has participated in Eurovision since 1973, Cyprus joined in 1981. Armenia is an Asian country but has competed in the competition since 2006 and Australia since 2015.

More than 180 million viewers around the world watch the broadcast of the competition every year.

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Features of the Eurovision Song Contest in 2023

According to Eurovision rules, the winning country hosts the event in the following year. In 2022, the Ukrainian group Kalush Orchestra won, but Ukraine cannot host guests due to the ongoing war with Russia. Therefore, the honor of holding the competition went to the winners who took second place - Great Britain. This is not the first time for the country: Britain has won five Eurovisions, but has hosted nine contests, including this year's.

The slogan of Eurovision 2023 is "United by music", which reflects the unique partnership between the United Kingdom, Ukraine and all participants of the event.

The Grand Final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 will take place at the Liverpool Arena by the River Mersey today, May 13.

This year, 36 countries are competing, including the "Big Five" - France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Great Britain. Bulgaria, Montenegro and North Macedonia withdrew from this year's competition due to costs associated with the performance.

Belarus' participation has been suspended since 2021, following disputed 2020 elections and a crackdown on media freedom in the country. Russia was disqualified in 2022 after invading Ukraine.

Favorites of 2023

The bookies' favorite in 2023 is the song "Tattoo" by Loreen from Sweden. Loreen is a well-known performer, having won the contest in 2012 with the hit song "Euphoria", a Eurovision classic of the 21st century. If she wins again, she will become only the second artist to win Eurovision twice, after Johnny Logan, who won for Ireland in 1980 and 1987.

The second leader is the performer from Finland Käärikä with the driving hit Cha Cha Cha.

The dark horse of this year's competition is Spain, which has not won since 1969.

The most stunning numbers of 2023 are the Austrian song "Who Hell is Edgar?", in which Teya&Salena sing about their obsession with Edgar Allan Poe, and the German mini-rock opera "Blood&Glitter" from Lord of the Lost.

Interesting facts about Eurovision

Over its more than 60-year history, Eurovision has spent hundreds of hours of live broadcasts and presented the world with more than 1,500 hits. It will take 72 hours to listen to all these songs.

The highest number of visitors was recorded in 2001, when the Parken stadium in Copenhagen gathered 38,000 guests.

The most successful country at the competition is Ireland, which has won 7 times. Sweden won the competition 6 times, and Luxembourg, France, the Netherlands and Great Britain 5 times each. Norway have been bottom of the table eleven times, but they have won the competition three times.

Despite the fact that the Eurovision Song Contest was held 64 times, it has 67 winners. In 1969, 4 countries topped the scoreboard with an equal number of points: Great Britain, Spain, the Netherlands and France. Due to the lack of rules for solving such situations, Eurovision had to announce the winners of all 4 participants.

The contest was canceled 1 time, in 2020, for the first time in 64 years of its existence. The reason was the epidemic of COVID-19 and quarantine restrictions that were in effect all over the world. Already in 2021, 22,000 tests for COVID-19 were performed on participants and staff during the Eurovision Song Contest.

In 2015, Eurovision entered the Guinness Book of Records as the longest-running annual televised music contest. The most successful winner of the Eurovision Song Contest is the Swedish pop group ABBA, who became the leader in 1974, but since then have enjoyed phenomenal success.

Whether you're a die-hard fan or a casual viewer, the Eurovision Song Contest has something for everyone.

Photo: Shutterstock

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