07 May 2023 , 18:48
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Excited Eurovisio n hopefuls from all over the continent jetted into Liverpool ahead of the eagerly-awaited grand finale next week.
The Eurovision Village officially opened on Friday, and contestants from countries including Italy, Finland, Greece, Iceland, and Poland arrived on the turquoise carpet for the ceremony on Sunday afternoon.
Liverpool was picked to host this year’s Eurovision Song Contest on behalf of Ukraine, who were unable to put on the gig due to the ongoing war with Russia, and last year's winners Kalush Orchestra are in the city ready to celebrate.
Greece's contestant Victor Vernicos looked excited to be in Liverpool (Getty Images)
Italy's Marco Mengoni was also on the turquoise carpet (ADAM VAUGHAN/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)Olympic gold medal winner and former I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! star Sam Quek is one of the hosts for the colourful evening in the city, as well as Ukrainian presenter Timur Miroshnychenko.
All 37 contestants walked down the carpet as they prepare for the biggest performance of their lives on Saturday 13 May, and Norway’s Eurovision hopeful Alessandra said she felt “blessed” to be in the iconic city.
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“I feel so blessed. I feel so nice here. I'm the first one out and that's an honour,” she told reporters.
Finland's hopeful Käärijä made sure his arrival was noticed by the excited crowds (Getty Images)Ireland’s entry Wild Youth also hit the turquoise carpet, and said the enormity of one of the biggest events in Europe was starting to sink in.
“It's all starting to feel very real. Everyone's getting here now, all the press are here and family are starting to fly in, so it's all starting to kind of really settle in,” Conor O'Donohoe said.
The gig, hosted by AJ Odudu and Joel Dommett, will also include former winner Conchita Wurst as well as Frankie Goes to Hollywood, who have reunited after splitting in 1987.
Poland's hopeful Blanka looked sensational on the turquoise carpet (ADAM VAUGHAN/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)The first Eurovision semi-final will take place on Tuesday, with the grand final on Saturday.
Singer Mae Muller has been picked to represent the UK at the famed ceremony, and the 25-year-old will try to scoop the coveted crown with her track I Wrote A Song.
Mae Muller will represent the UK in the grand final on Saturday (Jeff Spicer/Getty Images)She was confirmed as the Uk’s entry in March, and has been preparing to follow in the footsteps of last year’s entry Sam Ryder, who has shot to superstardom after coming second with his iconic track Space Man.
“We’re very different artists. What’s similar is that we both have a positive message [in our songs], but we have different things to say and we’ve gone through different things. But him doing so well last year could only ever be a good thing,” she told the Guardian recently.
Highlights of Sunday’s concert will be shown on BBC One on Monday, 6.30pm.