Eurovision Song Contest 2023

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ahtisyourself said:
A lot of countries pay towards it that doesn’t mean they should dominate the night and overtake the winner. Like it or not, or believe the reasons are just or not, the UK did not win! Ukraine did, and cannot host it because it’s too unsafe. The entire event should be about them, not just little tidbits and pity segments… all of it! They won it! Sure there’s been political tactical voting for years, this was no different. The only thing different about it is that they could not physically host it because it’s not safe. I don’t think there should be any UK presenter at all tbh. I think we should all be watching it as though it was televised in Ukraine. There should be nothing British about it whatsoever. Anything to the contrary is just just feelings of being hard done by seeping though.

And as for your last line, I think the UK needs to get over itself tbh.
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I'm a Dubliner, born and bred, and I don't see what the UK has to get over itself. The British are doing their best in this situation ❤
 
ahtisyourself said:
A lot of countries pay towards it that doesn’t mean they should dominate the night and overtake the winner. Like it or not, or believe the reasons are just or not, the UK did not win! Ukraine did, and cannot host it because it’s too unsafe. The entire event should be about them, not just little tidbits and pity segments… all of it! They won it! Sure there’s been political tactical voting for years, this was no different. The only thing different about it is that they could not physically host it because it’s not safe. I don’t think there should be any UK presenter at all tbh. I think we should all be watching it as though it was televised in Ukraine. There should be nothing British about it whatsoever. Anything to the contrary is just just feelings of being hard done by seeping though.

And as for your last line, I think the UK needs to get over itself tbh.
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I disagree, Ukraine is mentioned through the show, Ukrainian presenter, Ukrainian commentator has featured, Liverpool is awash with Ukrainian culture this week, postcards feature Ukrainian locations, Ukraine colors and flag are all over the branding, logo does not even include the Union Jack. BBC are paying, providing facilities in Liverpool and hosting the event so why should they sit back and let Ukrainians do all the work? I've seen no evidence of 'pity segments' for Ukraine, I think the whole co-hosting has been well handled so far.
 
went to the dress rehearsal this afternoon and have a few thoughts now i've watched the live show (on iplayer bc i fell asleep when i got home 😅) beware this is unnecessarily long

  • denmark vocal was much better and the transitions around the set were much smoother in DR. if it was based on that alone i'd have predicted he'd go through over armenia
  • armenia was a bit wishy washy in DR tbh. a bit surprised she got through over denmark as said but made more sense from what actually happened tonight
  • romania sounded a bit better in person but don't think the staging helped
  • estonia wasn't a standout from the studio version but the live vocal was amazing in person! got proper shivers. staging with the piano was great too it still had an effect irl even though i was basically on the roof

  • LOVED belgium! he wasn't really on my radar before listening on the way there but the arena loved it and he was the one that got the crowd going for the rest of the show. the track reminded me of jessie ware and then she ended up part of the interval medley - would love for her to represent us soon esp. if gustaph does well on saturday

  • cyprus was great too! again live vocal made it better than the song sounded initially. pyro really worked in person
  • iceland was a tricky one bc i loved her energy she was living for being on stage but it didn't really have an effect on the performance? just didn't impact the song overall like estonia or cyprus did
  • greece i wasn't a huge fan of tbh. the singing in cursive stood out for the wrong reasons among all the other entries

  • poland's live vocal actually wasn't horrendous. still can't say baby to save her life though. don't even like the song but was singing along through the whole thing, but maybe that says more about me than her. it'll probably be a guilty pleasure in a few years but i was expecting it to flop in the vote like israel did last year. kinda loved rylan's commentary shade too

  • solvenia were great, again loved being on stage. i think i maybe preferred san marino song wise but as performers solvenia felt more established
  • georgia i really enjoyed. not as impactful in person because the staging was quite small but i completely get why now i've seen it on camera
  • san marino again great, preferred slightly to solvenia but maybe it's the english lyrics being more memorable / easier to sing along to?

  • austria i've been obsessed with for like three months tbh. their live vocal wasn't *great* in person but sounded much better on the broadcast. the crowd really loved it too - the poe poe poe bit got everyone chanting and clapping along. think they got lost a bit in the staging too but the song is strong enough to do the talking i guess

  • albania were really great - so dramatic live and on tv and pleased they got through
  • lithuania - loved her! was worried it wouldn't translate on camera but it did and was amazing in person. the backing vocals were so effective and made the performance. same effect as cyprus and estonia for me and is now a fave
  • australia were probably got the best crowd reception tbh! maybe it was a last hurrah feeling but a solid cheer at the end and such great performers you can tell they enjoyed it too. again so so happy for them

other thoughts:
  • assuming the spain/ukraine/uk performances were recorded yesterday as we only saw clips but different clips to what was shown on tv. i think the uk staging for the first part of the song (what was shown in the arena) really works - agree about showing your own face being a bit cringe but the way she's stood interacts with the screens looks decent.
  • hannah waddingham is a class act - she really stood out as loving it all and was interacting with people when she could and bopping along to the performances. love that she doesn't take herself too seriously but is still professional. loved julia too and their duo really works, hugging and chatting between links. alesha was great too but feels maybe a bit less involved? basically they're exactly as they come across on camera
  • the stand ins got quite a few laughs from the arena - especially when alesha was telling a bunch of adults they were up past their bedtime at 2:45pm. such great sports with cameras cutting to them when announcing the fake qualifiers too. martin osterdahl was really there though! never really got the appeal but i understood seeing him in casual clothes and slightly scruffy hair
  • gutted i missed sam ryder on the albert dock! we walked right past that performance area too. had no idea about the massive stage on the pier head either but it was about to lash down so that wasn't really on my mind tbh.
re. hosting, i think we're doing a great job and it does feel a lot more collaborative when you're fully absorbed in it. i might have more of an opinion once the final has been broadcast though. not to be biased but i'm actually so proud of liverpool - personally never really had a strong english identity and imagine a lot of the city feels the same way so maybe that's why it feels less like we're claiming british win? it was chosen as host city for a reason though and glad they're highlighting that too. unity and a warm welcome are what we do best.
 
ahtisyourself said:
A lot of countries pay towards it that doesn’t mean they should dominate the night and overtake the winner. Like it or not, or believe the reasons are just or not, the UK did not win! Ukraine did, and cannot host it because it’s too unsafe. The entire event should be about them, not just little tidbits and pity segments… all of it! They won it! Sure there’s been political tactical voting for years, this was no different. The only thing different about it is that they could not physically host it because it’s not safe. I don’t think there should be any UK presenter at all tbh. I think we should all be watching it as though it was televised in Ukraine. There should be nothing British about it whatsoever. Anything to the contrary is just just feelings of being hard done by seeping though.

And as for your last line, I think the UK needs to get over itself tbh.
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So the UK should foot the bill to host and run the shows, with absolutely no acknowledgement of it not being the Ukraine and just pretend that it has nothing do with it? Okay then...
 
I thought the choice of Mae's stage outfit was really bland? it did not look like a dress rehearsal, needed something more eye-catching for sure.

The song has actually grown on me a lot, but it's not a winner by any stretch. It took a good few listens for me to start liking, so just hearing it once is not going to bring in the points.

I am rooting for Belgium, what a banger and Gustaph's voice is so strong.
 
ahtisyourself said:
A lot of countries pay towards it that doesn’t mean they should dominate the night and overtake the winner. Like it or not, or believe the reasons are just or not, the UK did not win! Ukraine did, and cannot host it because it’s too unsafe. The entire event should be about them, not just little tidbits and pity segments… all of it! They won it! Sure there’s been political tactical voting for years, this was no different. The only thing different about it is that they could not physically host it because it’s not safe. I don’t think there should be any UK presenter at all tbh. I think we should all be watching it as though it was televised in Ukraine. There should be nothing British about it whatsoever. Anything to the contrary is just just feelings of being hard done by seeping though.

And as for your last line, I think the UK needs to get over itself tbh.
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The estimated cost to the BBC / UK for staging Eurovision is between 8 to 17 million. So your insistence that the UK should just shut up and let the Ukraine do everything is ridiculous 🙄
 
@knivesnflowers your summary was far better than I could do. Thank you. I didn’t realise Sam was there 😟. Sophie Elise bexter was also performing in John Lewis in the afternoon as well but we missed her.
I was really impressed with the dress rehearsal. Actually loved the stage manager who spoke at the start.
I haven’t seen much of the show as got back to a sick child but from the bits I did catch I didn’t realise how different some acts come across on the tv. We were in the middle and on the side to the stage which probably also impacted how we saw them perform.
The three presenters also came across well. Hannah is just lovely, really natural. I think Julia and Alesha came across more nervous but also still came across well. And yes the stand ins were so funny, really didn’t expect that.
I also found it really interesting the change of stage sets and how slick it was and was impressed the artist literally walk onto stage and just start singing almost instantly. That must be so hard to do, although I’m no singer or performer so maybe it’s more normal. I was just impressed with the composure.
what made me smile was the two ladies hiding behind the sets wafting the Georgian performers dress up and down to create the effect at the end and the three men hiding under the Armenia set during the performance. It was on wheels so I think they were weighing it down.
 
MrsBsDayOff said:
I disagree, Ukraine is mentioned through the show, Ukrainian presenter, Ukrainian commentator has featured, Liverpool is awash with Ukrainian culture this week, postcards feature Ukrainian locations, Ukraine colors and flag are all over the branding, logo does not even include the Union Jack. BBC are paying, providing facilities in Liverpool and hosting the event so why should they sit back and let Ukrainians do all the work? I've seen no evidence of 'pity segments' for Ukraine, I think the whole co-hosting has been well handled so far.
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Why should they sit back and let Ukrainians do all the work? Haha maybe because THEY WON? Seriously, the entitlement 🥴
 
@knivesnflowers loved your summary the only thing I think for me to add was Victor (Greece representative) is just 16 so thought fair play to him the studio version just didn't relay to the live version for me the rasp to his voice just didn't make it to the live performance and it sounded out of tune I hope he was proud of himself regredless
 
For people that went the Ukrainian feeling is very high. All of the things in the village and around the docks are either Ukraine or the Eurovision colours/ symbols. Not once did I think oh we’ve taken over. At the fan village there was a Ukrainian lady playing the harb and singing in Ukrainian. There was a Ukrainian choir in John Lewis. A section of the fan village has a Ukrainian section selling Ukrainian clothing, food and an art installation. The show has a very set format and it’s only the presenters and interlude that can really be made specific to that show and both semis had a Ukrainian act. I’m sorry if it feels too british on tv but from being there I felt they were honouring the Ukraine. Also so many fans (including me) had Ukrainian face paint/ flags etc.
 
Just seen Mae's performance at the semi final. I'm sorry to say she's one of the worst performers we've had. Poor breath control, poor enunciation, no rhythm. Actually made me wince. Annoying as although the song is not my kind of thing, I can't get the song out of my head. Hope she can do better tomorrow night but I'll be on my way to Spain so I'll miss it. Hoping to get to the hotel room for the judging.
 
Raquencha said:
I’m sorry if it feels too british on tv but from being there I felt they were honouring the Ukraine. Also so many fans (including me) had Ukrainian face paint/ flags etc.
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But that’s sort of the problem - it hasn’t translated to TV. Zelensky has already criticised it for not being closer so more Ukrainians could come - the arena yesterday barely had a reaction to what would have been a host country entry for example, so it definitely feels that they’re not represented in the arena either

The EBU (I think) has said that there’s 11 acts/people representing Ukraine throughout the semi and final intervals. That feels tiny, especially when half of the shows feel like they’ve been random pauses between acts that don’t necessarily seem to have big staging changes. Even giving the Ukrainian host more of a centre stage would have fixed some of this I think

Granted, I don’t think anyone would want constant sad acts about war or suffering which is the way Ukraine may have gone

I’m generally underwhelmed this year for some reason
 
bubbadabut said:
Just seen Mae's performance at the semi final. I'm sorry to say she's one of the worst performers we've had. Poor breath control, poor enunciation, no rhythm. Actually made me wince. Annoying as although the song is not my kind of thing, I can't get the song out of my head. Hope she can do better tomorrow night but I'll be on my way to Spain so I'll miss it. Hoping to get to the hotel room for the judging.
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Just seen it too. Oh dear, even my favourite "da da da da di" bit sounds lacklustre 😄
 
Raquencha said:
I went to the rehearsal show today. It was amazing. Just fab. Not long got back.
The crowd went mad for Belgium, Austria and Australia so guessing they will go through. Was amazing how many fans knew the words and sand along, especially Austria.
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Me too, I think it has ruined all future concerts for me-BBC finally done good! We were absolutely blown away by it and really interesting that some of the acts that the crowds weren’t overly loving, the tv audience seemed to! Poland was brilliant in real life but it was an eyesore on tv. The whole thing was just joyous, I think Liverpool have done themselves proud.
 
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