The has dazzled and amazed fans with the epic qualifiers and semi-finals this week, and it’s all been leading to the big one. The grand final.
The United Kingdom is hosting for the first time in 25 years were unable to stage the contest due to the ongoing war with – with the honour falling to this country after
hoping to bring the UK its sixth victory – and its first since Katrina And The Waves triumphed with Love Shine A Light in 1997 – with her dance banger I Wrote A Song.
Whether you love Eurovision or whether you’ll be watching for the first time, you won’t want to miss a minute – but when is the song contest and how can you tune in?
What time is the Eurovision 2023 final?
The grand final of Eurovision 2023
It’s being held at the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool.
The final will see 26 countries competing for this year’s trophy, with the winner decided by a mix of public votes, and those given by juries of music industry experts from each of the participating nations.
Six of the countries taking part in this year’s contest are already pre-qualified for the final – France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Ukraine and the UK.
Of these, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK automatically win a place in the final due to their status as the ‘Big Five’ – the countries who are the biggest financiers of the contest.
Last year’s winner – in this case, Ukraine – also receives an automatic place in the final.
The remaining countries fought for a place in the final during one of the two semi-finals which took place on May 9 and May 11.
Only 10 countries from each of the two semis made it through to Saturday night.
The full list of countries who made it to tonight’s final are:
- Austria
- Portugal
- Switzerland
- Poland
- Serbia
- France
- Cyprus
- Spain
- Sweden
- Albania
- Italy
- Estonia
- Finland
- Czechia
- Australia
- Belgium
- Armenia
- Moldova
- Ukraine
- Norway
- Germany
- Lithuania
- Israel
- Slovenia
- Croatia
- United Kingdom
Who is hosting Eurovision 2023?
Some of Britain’s best and brightest talents from the world of music, TV and the West End are leading the charge on the night.
Ted Lasso and joins Britain’s Got Talent judge and pop star and Ukrainian singer Julia Sanina as they share hosting duties on the main stage.
Graham Norton will provide his usual hilarious () commentary.
How to watch Eurovision in the UK
The grand final will be on BBC One from 8pm, with Graham Norton commentating between presentation duties, with a little help from Mel Giedroyc.
If you miss any of it you’ll be able to catch up via the BBC iPlayer – or you can stream it via Eurovision.tv’s official YouTube channel (although you won’t get any commentary with it).
Alternatively, if you don’t fancy staying in and watching on the sofa, many big cities are including the following:
- Birmingham –
- Brighton –
- Cardiff –
- Darlington –
- Leeds –
- Manchester – Piccadilly Gardens
- Newcastle –
- Nottingham –
- Sheffield –
Some of the above screenings are ticketed, while others are on a first-come first-served basis – you should check your local council website or local press for further information.
As well as the official screenings, hundreds of bars, restaurants and pubs across the UK will be screening both the semi-finals and the final – while it is also being shown
Once again check local press and listings to see which venues in your are are showing it – and whether you can still get tickets.
note: You should not include Iceland, San Marino, Greece, Romania, Denmark, Georgia, Latvia, Ireland, Malta, Azerbaijan, and The Netherlands as they were all knocked out in this week’s semi-finals.
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