King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla light up Eurovision 2023 stage in Liverpool
King Charles visited Liverpool where preparations for Eurovision 2023 are underway (Photo:REUTERS/Phil Noble/Pool)
Britain’s King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla on April 26 visited the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool, which is to host Eurovision 2023.
The organizers presented the stage for the song contest for the first time, and Their Majesties were the first to see it. The organizers arranged a tour of the M&S Bank Arena, where the contest will take place.
Tim Davie, the CEO of the BBC, which is responsible for preparing the contest in Liverpool, introduced King Charles and his wife to the staff, creative team, and other personnel who prepared the Arena for the competition. After the conversation, the King and Queen Consort took part in a ceremonial lighting of the Eurovision 2023 stage lights to the musical theme of the song contest, composed by Ukrainian composer Mykhailo Nekrasov.
King Charles and his wife also spoke with the contest’s presenters, which include Ukrainian singer and frontwoman of the band The Hardkiss, Yulia Sanina, and UK actress and Emmy Award winner Hannah Waddingham, as well as BBC Radio 2 commentators Rylan and Scott Mills, Eurovision 2023 participant May Müller, and the musical director of the song contest, Kodjo Samuel.
The stage designer for Eurovision 2023 is Julio Himede, and the stage is meant to represent “unity, celebration, and community.” It covers over 450 square meters and features 220 square meters of moving and rotating video screens, as well as over 700 video tiles integrated into the floor. The stage is illuminated by 1,500 meters of LED lights.
The Eurovision Song Contest 2023, with 37 participating countries, will be held in Liverpool on behalf of Ukraine on May 9 and 11 (first and second semifinals) and May 13 (grand final). Ukraine will be represented by the band Tvorchi with the song “Heart of Steel,” and they will perform in the grand final as the 19th act.
The Ukrainian team is leading the preparations for the show in collaboration with the organizers of the competition, the European Broadcasting Union, and the BBC team. The Ukrainian creative director for Eurovision 2023 is Herman Nenov, and one of the hosts on stage will be the lead singer of The Hardkiss, Yulia Sanina. The backstage host will be Timur Miroshnychenko.
Ukrainian composer Dmytro Shurov has written the music for the introductory postcards that will feature all 37 participants in Eurovision 2023. For the videos that accompany the postcards, the monument to the iconic band The Beatles, one of the most popular selfie spots in Liverpool, was dressed in “vyshyvankas”, Ukrainian traditional embroidered shirts.
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