Eurovision hits UK as its stars warm up in front of UK crowd ahead of Liverpool spectacular
While the main event is still a few weeks away, the Eurovision circus landed in London – bringing with it the loud costumes, odd props and colourful characters.
But they’re not in the UK to compete – instead it was part of an unofficial (but widely endorsed), whistle-stop tour of the continent where the acts get a chance to test out their songs in front of real audiences full of Eurovision fans in an effort to get their campaigns under way.
The London Eurovision Party was headlined by, of course, the UK act Mae Muller, with performances by artists from this year, as well as years gone by.
And it will be all eyes on Loreen in Liverpool in May – she won the contest for Sweden in 2012 with Euphoria, which is one of the most popular Eurovision tracks in history.
She’s back with new song Tattoo, and while bookies have her at odds-on favourite to win, she told Sky News the only pressure she feels is a creative one.
“I so badly want to create something that matters,” she said, adding: “It’s more pressure to create something as a performance.
“I never thought that this was going to be my path. What happened was the song came to me… I instantly felt when I got that, that I knew that there is something that’s going to happen to me with this song, and then a week or two later, they pop the question [to do Eurovision again] I’m like, ‘no, no, wait, wait, you can’t be serious’.”
If Loreen does do the business and take home the trophy, and nothing is for certain in Eurovision, she would become the first woman to win the contest more than once (Johnny Logan for Ireland holds the official record for the most individual wins as a performer and writer, in case you wondered).
Hot on the heels of Loreen is Finnish act Käärijä, with his Euro-hyper pop tune Cha Cha Cha.
Spotted a mile off at the party, he is famed for his neon green sleeves-only puffer jacket and unique haircut.
Finland’s Käärijä in Amsterdam. Pic: Hollandse Hoogte/Shutterstock
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Describing the track he hopes to win with, he told Sky News: “It’s very much power and energy and fire, and it’s the freedom for me in the story.
“Eurovision, it’s a… funny thing, and it makes people happy when they are watching. And what happens is many artists doing funny things and creating great songs.”
The Scandi-star added he was looking forward to maybe fitting in a game at Anfield too when he gets to Liverpool, adding Mo Salah is his favourite player.
But as well as the front-runners, Eurovision is built on its memorable songs and this year Austria provides the goods.
Austria’s entry at Eurovision
Teya and Salena will perform their (and this is real) ode to the American writer Edgar Allan Poe.
The pair explained to Sky News that the idea to perform a song about the ghost of Poe came in a pretty unconventional way, with Teya saying they simply improvised the opening lines to the track at a writing session – but the song wasn’t even their first pitch for the contest.
“We just wanted to make people laugh at the listening session because we had like an hour left, and we just were like, ‘Oh, let’s just do another song just for funsies’ – and it turned out to not be just funsies.
“And Edgar Allan Poe, he’s the epitome of the struggling artist, which we know a lot about, and we just put our experiences into the song and that’s how it happened.”
Australia’s Voyager during the Amsterdam Eurovision party. Pic: Hollandse Hoogte/Shutterstock
Australia’s act, Voyager, were also soaking up at the atmosphere in London, having previously done the Madrid and Amsterdam Eurovision parties.
The veteran prog-metal group said their song is “synth-sational” and “Duran Duran but heavy” – and it comes complete with screamed choruses and a guitar solo.
And their message to those who question why the country is part of the show?
“Australia is a nation built up of immigrants really, and we’ve got a lot of European people living in Australia.
“It kind of just makes sense to have Australia be a part of the Eurovision Song Contest.”
The show is being hosted in Liverpool, but of course Ukraine won the last contest – but with the ongoing war there the organisers deemed it unsafe to stage it on Ukrainian soil, so the BBC stepped in to host in its place after the UK’s Sam Ryder came second in last year’s event.
The week (yes, an entire week) kicks off on 9 May with the first semi-final, and the second two days later, followed by the grand final on 13 May, and will be hosted by Hannah Waddingham, Alesha Dixon, Julia Sanina and Graham Norton.
Despite The Who’s Quadrophenia being set over 60 years ago, Pete Townshend’s themes of identity, mental health, and modern masculinity are just as relevant today.
The album is having a renaissance as Pete Townshend’s Quadrophenia A Mod ballet is being brought to life via dance at Sadler’s Wells East, and Sky News has an exclusive first look.
As Townshend puts it, the album he wrote is “perfect” for the stage.
Pete Townshend
“My wife Rachel did the orchestration for me, and as soon as I heard it I said to her it would make a fabulous ballet and we never really let that go,” he tells Sky News.
“Heavy percussion, concussive sequences. They’re explosive moments. They’re also romantic movement moments.”
If you identify with the demographics of Millennial, Gen Y or Gen Z, you might not be familiar with The Who and Mod culture.
But in post-war Britain the Mods were a cultural phenomenon characterised by fashion, music, and of course, scooters. The young rebels were seen as a counter-culture to the establishment and The Who, with Roger Daltry’s lead vocals and Pete Townshend’s writing, were the soundtrack.
Quadrophenia the album is widely regarded as an essay on the British adolescent experience at the time, focusing on the life of fictional protagonist Jimmy – a young Mod struggling with his sanity, self-doubt, and alienation.
Townshend sets the rock opera in 1965 but thinks its themes of identity, mental health, and modern masculinity are just as relevant today.
He says: “The phobias and the restrictions and the unwritten laws about how young men should behave. The ground that they broke, that we broke because I was a part of it.
“Men were letting go of [the] wartime-related, uniform-related stance that if I wear this kind of outfit it makes me look like a man.”
Paris Fitzpatrick and Pete Townshend. Pic: Johan Persson
This struggle of modern masculinity and identity appears to be echoing today as manosphere influencers like Andrew Tate, incel culture, and Netflix’s Adolescence make headlines.
For dancer Paris Fitzpatrick, who takes on the lead role of Jimmy, the story resonates.
Paris Fitzpatrick, who takes on the lead role of Jimmy in the ballet
“I think there’s a connection massively and I think there may even be a little more revival in some way,” he tells Sky News.
“I love that myself. I love non-conforming to gender norms and typical masculinity; I think it’s great to challenge things.”
Despite the album being written before he was born, the dancer says he was familiar with the genre already.
“I actually did an art GCSE project about Mods and rockers and Quadrophenia,” he says.
“I think we’ll be able to bring it to new audiences and hopefully, maybe people will be inspired to to learn more about their music and the whole cultural movement of the early 60s.”
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In 1979, the album was adapted into a film directed by Franc Roddam starring Ray Winstone and Sting but Townshend admits because the film missed key points he is “not a big fan”.
“What it turned out to be in the movie was a story about culture, about social scenario and less about really the specifics of mental illness and how that affects young people,” he adds, also complimenting Roddam’s writing for the film.
Perhaps a testament to Pete Townshend’s creativity, Quadrophenia started as an album, was successfully adapted to film and now it will hit the stage as a contemporary ballet.
It appears that over six decades later Mod culture is still cool and their issues still relatable.
Quadrophenia, a Mod Ballet will tour to Plymouth Theatre Royal from 28 May to 1 June 2025, Edinburgh Festival Theatre from 10 to 14 June 2025 and the Mayflower, Southampton from 18 to 21 June 2025 before having its official opening at Sadler’s Wells Theatre, London on 24 June running to 13 July 2025 and then visiting The Lowry, Salford from 15 to 19 July 2025.
Russell Brand has been charged with rape and two counts of sexual assault between 1999 and 2005.
The Metropolitan Police say the 50-year-old comedian, actor and author has also been charged with one count of oral rape and one count of indecent assault.
The charges relate to four women.
He is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday 2 May.
Police have said Brand is accused of raping a woman in the Bournemouth area in 1999 and indecently assaulting a woman in the Westminster area of London in 2001.
He is also accused of orally raping and sexually assaulting a woman in Westminster in 2004.
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Ashna Hurynag discusses Russell Brand’s charges
The fourth charge alleges that a woman was sexually assaulted in Westminster between 2004 and 2005.
Police began investigating Brand, from Oxfordshire, in September 2023 after receiving a number of allegations.
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The comedian has denied the accusations and said he has “never engaged in non-consensual activity”.
He added in a video on X: “Of course, I am now going to have the opportunity to defend these charges in court, and I’m incredibly grateful for that.”
Metropolitan Police Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy, who is leading the investigation, said: “The women who have made reports continue to receive support from specially trained officers.
“The Met’s investigation remains open and detectives ask anyone who has been affected by this case, or anyone who has any information, to come forward and speak with police.”
Tom Cruise has paid tribute to Val Kilmer, wishing his Top Gun co-star “well on the next journey”.
Cruise, speaking at the CinemaCon film event in Las Vegas on Thursday, asked for a moment’s silence to reflect on the “wonderful” times shared with the star, whom he called a “dear friend”.
Kilmer, who died of pneumonia on Tuesday aged 65, rocketed to fame starring alongside Cruise in the 1986 blockbuster Top Gun, playing Tom ‘Iceman’ Kazansky, a rival fighter pilot to Cruise’s character Maverick.
Tom Cruise said ‘I wish you well on the next journey’. Pic: AP
Val Kilmer in 2017. Pic: AP
His last part was a cameo role in the 2022 blockbuster sequel Top Gun: Maverick.
Cruise, on stage at Caesars Palace on Thursday, said: “I’d like to honour a dear friend of mine, Val Kilmer. I can’t tell you how much I admire his work, how grateful and honoured I was when he joined Top Gun and came back later for Top Gun: Maverick.
“I think it would be really nice if we could have a moment together because he loved movies and he gave a lot to all of us. Just kind of think about all the wonderful times that we had with him.
“I wish you well on the next journey.”
The moment of silence followed a string of tributes from Hollywood figures including Cher, Francis Ford Coppola, Antonio Banderas and Michelle Monaghan.
Kilmer’s daughter Mercedes told the New York Times on Wednesday that the actor had died from pneumonia.
Tom Cruise at Caesars Palace on Thursday. Pic: AP
Diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014, Kilmer discussed his illness and recovery in his 2020 memoir Your Huckleberry and Amazon Prime documentary Val.
He underwent radiation and chemotherapy treatments for the disease and also had a tracheostomy which damaged his vocal cords and permanently gave him a raspy speaking voice.
Kilmer played Batman in the 1995 film Batman Forever and received critical acclaim for his portrayal of rock singer Jim Morrison in the 1991 movie The Doors.
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He also starred in True Romance and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, as well as playing criminal Chris Shiherlis in Michael Mann’s 1995 movie Heat and Doc Holliday in the 1993 film Tombstone.
In 1988 he married British actress Joanne Whalley, whom he met while working on fantasy adventure Willow.
The couple had two children before divorcing in 1996.
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