Today, the EBU have revealed the acts who will be appearing as part of the grand final interval acts for this year’s Eurovision Song Contest! They feature an all-star line up of Eurovision acts from across the continent, with a particular focus on highlighting some of the most recognisable Ukrainian artists.
Opening the show
Kalush Orchstra, winners of the 2022 Eurovision Song Content, will open the show with a medley titled “Voices of a New Generation”. This will include last year’s winning song, “Stefania”.
Since their victory last year, Kalush Orchestra have balanced releasing new music, touring Europe to raise funds to support the Ukrainian armed forces and supporting relief and defence efforts within Ukraine. They auctioned off their Eurovision winning trophy to raise funds for the Ukrainian armed forces, which was sold for US$900,000.
The flag parade
The flag parade will blend music from some of the most iconic Ukrainian Eurovision stars with British classics, and will feature performances from Go_A, Verka Serduchka, Tina Karol and Jamala.
Go_A achieved 5th place in 2021 with “Shum”. More recently, they too have been touring Europe to raise money and awareness for the Ukrainian war. They will be performing at the Eurovillage in Liverpool on Monday night during the week of Eurovision.
Drag queen Verka Serduchka came in 2nd at the 2007 contest with “Dancing Lasha Tumbai”. The character is performed by Andriy Danylko, who has taken a step back from performing as Verka in more recent years. However, Danylko is continuing to use Verka’s image to support the war effort. Recently, he also auctioned off a Rolls Royce Silver Shadow, which had previously belonged to Freddie Mercury, to raise money for a prosthesis and rehabilitation centre in Lviv.
Tina Karol has gone from strength to strength after placing 7th at the 2006 contest with “Show Me Your Love”. She has since released nine albums and three EPs, and regularly appears as a performer, judge and presenter on music shows across Ukraine and beyond. She has more recently travelled the world as an ambassador for the country. In 2017, she was awarded the title of People’s Artist of Ukraine.
Jamala won the contest in 2016 with her song “1944”. She is soon to release a new album, QIRIM, based on Crimean folk songs, which she will perform for the first time at the Eurovillage on the Thursday of Eurovision week, accompanied by a full orchestra.
The interval
Sam Ryder will perform as the first interval act in Liverpool. Ryder came second in the 2022 contest with the song “Space Man”, and since then has released his debut album, which reached number 1 in the UK charts. He also performed as part of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations for Queen Elizabeth II, and has just completed his first UK tour.
The second interval act is called “The Liverpool Song Book”, and will feature a host of famous Eurovision faces. Six iconic acts will perform a medley of songs from some of Liverpool’s most well-known artists. These include Italy’s Mahmood, Israel’s Netta, Iceland’s Daði Freyr, Sweden’s Cornelia Jakobs, Duncan Laurence from the Netherlands, as well as Liverpudlian Sonia, who finished in second place in 1993.
And the semis?
Suspilne shared the performers for this year’s Eurovision semi-finals earlier this week. They include:
Semi-final 1:
- Julia Sanina, performing “маяк” to open the show
- Rita Ora, performing a medley of her own songs
- Alyosha performing “Ordinary World”, originally by Duran Duran
- Rebecca Ferguson, who will be joining Alyosha for a performance titled “Welcome To Our Home”
Semi-final 2:
- Maria Yaremchuk, leading a medley called “Music Unites Generations”, alongside OTOY and Zlata Dzyunka
- A drag performance by three artists, titled “Be Who You Want To Be”
What we know about Eurovision 2023
Although Ukraine won the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest in Turin, due to the ongoing Russian invasion they are unable to host the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest. Instead, the United Kingdom stepped in, as 2022’s runner-up; Liverpool will host the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest on the 9th, 11th, and 13th of May 2023. The contest will take place at the M&S Arena, with 37 countries taking part. The full production team behind the 2023 contest is listed here. The contest is a co-production between host broadcaster the BBC and last year’s winning broadcaster, Suspilne.
Are you excited for the interval acts for this year’s contest? What songs would you like to see them perform? As always, let us know what you think by commenting below. Also, be sure to follow “That Eurovision Site” on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok as we prepare for Eurovision 2023!
News Source: Eurovision.tv
Photo Credit: Yara Nardi
