‘Ukraine and Liverpool are in this together’ – BBC director-general visits Eurovision host city as song contest plans take shape
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‘Ukraine and Liverpool are in this together’ – BBC director-general visits Eurovision host city as song contest plans take shape

By Judy J. Beasley

Preparations for the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 are in full swing – and now the BBC’s senior brass have traveled to Liverpool to meet key stakeholders.

The Director General of the BBC Tim Davie and Kate Phillipsits director of unscripted programming, met with members of the city’s bid team and officials from the M&S Bank Arena, which will host the competition.

Speaking to the PA News Agency, Mr Davie explained some of the reasons why Liverpool won the host city bid process.

“When you look at a bid, you’re looking through the perfect venue, does the city have real commitment, does it have the legacy events in place, school programs, all the things that surround a winning bid , and does she have fantastic people.”

“I think it was all there for Liverpool.”

“The other thing was that there’s a soul to this place that’s not there, a warmth, a story, which I think matters too.”

He would not be drawn into the details of the show. However, he teased what will seem blindingly obvious to anyone who has attended Eurovision.

“I’m not going to tell you too much because we have a bit of work to do, but I think what you’ll see is a couple of things, one is the city itself coming to life. “

“It’s not just one event, of course, we have the semi-finals and everything that happens there, but I think you’ll see a city come to life, which is really inspiring.”

“I think you’ll see a sort of festival atmosphere through the period.”

“In the show itself, it’s a little early and I’m not going to reveal anything about what we’re up to.”

He also reiterated a very important point regarding Ukraine’s central role in the broadcasts.

“One thing I would say is that we are doing this on behalf of Ukraine, so it will absolutely be a program and a show and a whole series of events where Ukraine and Liverpool are really in this together. “

“You meet people here and they are extremely proud of the victory.”

“I think more than anything they want to put on a world class event and bring more people closer to Liverpool but also, for everyone in this area, give them the party of a lifetime and then show that to millions, dozens millions of people around the world.

Do you feel the excitement coming out of Liverpool? Why do you think Liverpool won? Let us know in the comments box below!

Judy J. Beasley
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