With rehearsals about to begin in Liverpool, King Charles and Queen Camilla have today visited the M&S Bank Arena to officially unveil this year’s Eurovision stage!
The pair were joined at the venue by Tim Davie, the director-general of the BBC, alongside a number of people involved in the creation of this year’s contest in front of the camera and behind the scenes.
The stage was unveiled to a version of the Eurovision theme music created by Ukrainian composer Michael Nekrasov.
A host of hosts
During their visit to the arena, King Charles and Queen Camilla met hosts of the 2023 contest Julia Sanina and Hannah Waddingham, as well as BBC commentators Scott Mills and Rylan. They also met Mae Muller, the UK representative for 2023, alongside musical director Kojo Samuel and Martin Österdahl, Executive Supervisor of the contest.
Blue Peter presenters Abby Cook, Joel Mawhinney and Mwaksy Mudenda also joined the visit, and presented both Charles and Camilla with a gold Blue Peter badge each – the highest honour bestowed by the programme.
Following the visit to the Arena, Camilla also visited The Big Eurovision Read pop-up reading den outside Liverpool Central Library. Led by The Reading Agency and supported by BBC Arts, the Big Eurovision Read is a reading-for-pleasure campaign celebrating music and literature. It is part of the BBC’s broader programming for Eurovision 2023.
Based on the principles of togetherness, celebration and community
This year’s stage has been designed by Julio Himede. It is based on principles of “togetherness, celebration and community”. The inspiration comes from the unique circumstances under which the contest this year is being hosted:
The architecture takes inspiration from a wide hug, opening its arms to Ukraine, the show’s performers and guests from across the world. I focused on the cultural aspects and similarities between Ukraine, the UK and specifically Liverpool. From music, dance and art to architecture and poetry…It is our duty as designers to enhance performances through a compelling visual landscape, while capturing the heart and soul of the Eurovision Song Contest.
Julio Himede
At the unveiling, Martin Green CBE, Managing Director of Eurovision, said:
“We are thrilled His Majesty The King and Her Majesty The Queen Consort have unveiled this landmark moment for 2023 Eurovision. It has been a fantastic collaboration between all of our partners and the BBC to get to this point and now the stage is officially set to capture everyone’s imaginations and bring together audiences from across the world.”
Martin Green CBE
The technical side
This year’s stage is over 450 square metres in size, with a floor featuring over 700 video tiles, and more than 1500 metres of LED lights. Also incorporated into the design are 220 square metres of independently moving and turning video screens. For the first time since 2019, standing capacity returns to the Eurovision arena.
The full action of the stage can be seen in this video rendering released by the BBC.
The full production team behind the 2023 contest can be found here. The contest is a co-production between host broadcaster the BBC and last year’s winning broadcaster, Suspilne.
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 event. 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.
Alesha Dixon, Julia Sanina and Hannah Waddingham will host the semi-finals. Graham Norton will join the presenting team for the grand final.
What do you think of the Eurovision stage for 2023? Are you excited to see it come alive for the contest? 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: BBC
Photo Credit: BBC/Nick Robinson
