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Liverpool 2023: EuroFestival lineup announced

28 March 2023 at 14:30 CEST
Liverpool has unveiled details of 24 cultural commissions which will take over the city in the run-up to the Eurovision Song Contest in May.

Taking place from 1 to 14 May, EuroFestival is something of a first for a Eurovision host city, as it presents 24 commissions - 19 of which are collaborative projects between artists from Ukraine and the United Kingdom - to showcase the uniting power of music and art.

One of the most ambitious projects amongst the lineup, Soloveiko Songbirds, will see 12 large-scale, light-up nightingales located around the city. Each songbird will be designed with unique plumage and accompanied by bespoke audio soundscapes to represent different regions of Ukraine. When viewed collectively, the Songbirds will make up an eye-catching trail which can be followed by the public over the two-week festival.

Surrounded by thousands of sandbags to replicate the way statues in Ukraine are being protected from bombardment, the Nelson Monument, located in Exchange Flags, will host Protect the Beats. Within the structure will be screens premiering a new short documentary which highlights how live music and performance continued throughout last year, showing in one piece the protection of both physical and musical culture.

Ukrainian Eurovision Song Contest winner Jamala will premiere a poignant new album of music, based around Crimean Tatar folk songs and accompanied by the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra as part of QIRIM on 11 May.

Jamala will be part of the programme for EuroFestival in Liverpool

Elsewhere, fans will be able to experience EuroCamp presentsā€¦ - an LGBTQI+ focused three-day festival in Chavasse Park featuring drag, performance, choreography, vogue, music, carnival, circus and more. Xpressia Festival, an underground counterculture festival, will be brought to life in several locations across Liverpool. Storyville Live, meanwhile, will see the award-winning documentary series stage its first ever film festival at the Everyman Cinema, celebrating both Ukrainian and music documentaries.

St George's Hall, Liverpool BBC / James Stark

Over the course of the two week period there will also be Queerovision, an online commission showing digital video reportage of Liverpool's Queer Fringe throughout the festival period, and The Peopleā€™s Flag, a mass participation dance event. The Big Eurovision Read is a national project with The Reading Agency choosing a shortlist of books inspired by the theme of ā€˜United by Musicā€™.

For full details about EuroFestival, and all 24 of its projects, you can visit the official Visit Liverpool website.

EuroFestival will take place in Liverpool for two weeks in May

EuroFestival has been made possible thanks to support from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, as well as The British Council, Spirit of 2012 and Arts Council England. The content partners are The Ukrainian Institute, the BBC, Liverpool ONE, The Liverpool BID and Royal Liverpool Albert Dock.Ā 

You can listen to all 37 songs of Eurovision 2024 via your favourite streaming service or watch the music videos on our YouTube channel.

The Eurovision Song Contest will take place in Malmƶ, Sweden on Tuesday 7 May (First Semi-Final), Thursday 9 May (Second Semi-Final) and Saturday 11 May (Grand Final) 2024.

Don't forget to download ourĀ app (forĀ iOS /Ā Android), sign up to the official Eurovision Song ContestĀ newsletter, and subscribe to theĀ official podcast!