Liverpool, United Kingdom hosted Eurovision 2023

Ukraine's Kalush Orchestra won the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest in Torino, Italy. The song "Stefania" won the contest with 631 points, earning a record-breaking 439 out of a possible 480 points from the televote. However, due to Russia's invasion and continuing war with Ukraine, the EBU determined that the uncertainty of the situation would require the Contest to be relocated. This is the first time since the 1980 Contest that the previous year's winner has been unable to host the following year's Contest.

The United Kingdom, which finished second with the song "SPACE MAN" by Sam Ryder, was offered the opportunity to be the backup host. The BBC, the UK's participating broadcaster, accepted the invitation in the summer of 2022. Several cities made bids to host the competition with Glasgow, Scotland and Liverpool emerging as the finalists. The selection of Liverpool could be attributed to its impact on the music industry and sister city relationship with Odesa, Ukraine.

Participating Countries

37 countries competed in May 2023. Bulgaria, Montenegro, and North Macedonia withdrew from the competition citing budget issues. This marks the first time North Macedonia has withdrawn from the competition since its first participation in 1996.

The big rule change this year involved televoting. First, the 10 countries advancing from each semi-final was determined by 100% televote. Also, a new Rest of the World televote was introduced, where an additional set of points would be determined by a televote from all non-participating countries.

The countries of the Big 5—France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom—automatically advanced to the Grand Final on Saturday, May 13. Ukraine also automatically advance to the Grand Final. 31 countries competed in the semi-finals held Tuesday, May 9 and Thursday, May 11.

Selection Season 2023

Any song released after September 1, 2022 is eligible to compete in the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest. Each participating country has until mid-March to select their entry. The processes range from fully internal (the broadcaster chooses the artist and the song) to home audiences voting in multiple week music competitions.

Below is a spreadsheet of what artists and songs have been selected.

Broadcast Calendar

Here is a calendar with known dates and times for televised selection shows. Click on an item to get a link to where you should be able to stream the program. Times displayed are US Eastern.

Playlists