Eurovision 2023: Mae Muller announced as UK’s act for contest in Liverpool
Mae Muller will represent the UK at Eurovision in May, the BBC has revealed.
The 25-year-old will step on stage in Liverpool, hoping to replicate the success of Sam Ryder, who finished in second place last year and topped the jury votes leaderboard.
She’ll be singing her track I Wrote A Song.
Other acts who had been rumoured to be in the running had included Mimi Webb, Rina Sawayama and Birdy.
Who chooses the act?
The BBC uses internal selection to choose its Eurovision performance, after a string of disappointing results in recent years (including two last place finishes in a row) prompted a rethink.
It works with record label TaP Music to find the artist and song.
Earlier this week, tickets to the grand final sold out in just 36 minutes, with all nine shows selling out in just an hour-and-a-half.
While the 11,000-capacity Liverpool Arena may be packed out, people can still head to the fan zone in Liverpool, or watch the whole week unfold on the BBC.
Kalush Orchestra, a Ukrainian rap group, won the contest last year, but it was deemed unsafe to hold 2023’s event in the country due to the ongoing conflict.
Ryder performed for the UK last year in Turin, Italy, finishing in second place, with the BBC offering to step in and host on Ukraine’s behalf.
Sam Ryder finished in second place last year
Who is Mae Muller?
The north London-born singer will be the first female entrant for the UK since SuRie competed in 2018 with Storm, coming 24th.
Coincidentally she was born in 1997 – the same year the UK last won Eurovision with Katrina And The Waves’ Love Shine A Light.
She has 126,000 followers on Instagram and more than 6.1 million monthly listeners on Spotify, credits Prince and Sade as her early musical influences, and says Gwen Stefani, Florence Welch and Lily Allen have all inspired her in more recent years.
She has worked with chart-topping acts including girl group Little Mix, rapper Aitch and music producer and DJ Sigala.
In 2019, Muller supported Little Mix on their LM5 tour.
Who is hosting the show?
The hosting team will include the Ukrainian singer Julia Sanina, alongside TV star and singer Alesha Dixon, and Ted Lasso actress Hannah Waddingham.
Graham Norton, who has commentated on Eurovision since 2009, will join the three hosts for the final. He will share commentating duties with actress and comedian Mel Giedroyc.
The Eurovision grand final will take place at the Liverpool Arena Saturday 13 May and air live on the BBC from 8pm.
An amber warning has been issued for snow in a part of the UK, likely to cause travel delays and “stranding some vehicles and passengers”.
The warning, which covers south west England, also warns some rural communities could become cut off and is in place until 2pm this evening.
Pic: Met Office
There is also a yellow weather warning for snow covering the southern counties of England until midnight on Wednesday.
The warning stretches from Kent to Cornwall and up to south London and the Met Office said between 2cm and 5cm of snow could accumulate fairly widely, with as much as 10cm over higher ground.
This week is expected to see the coldest nights of the year, with temperatures potentially reaching -14C on Wednesday night and -16C on Thursday night, both in the North East of England and Scotland, the Met Office said.
Weather warnings issued on Tuesday for snow and ice covering the parts of Wales, the North West of England, west and northern parts of Scotland as well as Northern Ireland will remain in place until midnight tomorrow.
The forecaster said some roads and railways are likely to be affected and there could be icy patches on untreated roads.
Pics: AP
Meanwhile the Environment Agency has said at least 300 properties have flooded across England since New Year’s Eve. It estimates more than 41,000 properties have been protected.
Heavy rainfall over the New Year caused significant river and surface water flooding across the North West of England and Yorkshire and snowmelt has brought further disruption to parts of England, particularly the Midlands, the agency said.
Read more from Sky News:
Terrifying firestorm rips through home of film stars and billionaires
Homes destroyed – how people are coping with floods
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Man says flooding ‘came out of nowhere’
Floods minister Emma Hardy said: “My sympathies go out to the people, businesses and communities impacted by the recent flooding across the country.
“I want to express my heartfelt thanks for the vital work that the Environment Agency and emergency services are doing to keep people safe. People must continue to follow their advice and sign up for flood warnings.”
Flood warnings
Some 100 flood warnings were in force across England on Wednesday, with people urged to remain vigilant over the coming days.
A danger-to-life warning was issued on Tuesday morning for the River Soar near Barrow upon Soar, Leicestershire, but was later removed.
People living in caravan parks in the area were urged by the Environment Agency to act, with a large-scale evacuation needed to save lives.
Firefighters have rescued dozens of people across Leicestershire since Monday, Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service said.
Hundreds of schools were closed across the UK, with road and rail links blocked, as Manchester, Bristol and Liverpool John Lennon airports suspended flights because of the conditions.
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