Licked by flames, the imposing Eurovision stage bursts into life with pyrotechnics to mark the beginning of the 67th song contest – this year being hosted by the UK on behalf of Ukraine.
A giant set of multi-coloured hands are lifted onto the stage as a remix of last year’s winning anthem – Stephania by Kalush Orchestra – blasts out, and the band steps out onto two enormous palms accompanied by an army of drummers.
It’s a press-only viewing (so really more about planning the show’s logistics than entertaining the crowd) but mutters overheard in the audience include “the best opening ceremony ever” and “it bought a tear to my eye”.
It’s a gruelling schedule as the floor manager cheerily announces: “Enjoy the show, we’re exhausted, but you’ll love it.”
The show has three directors jumping between acts, and a complex series of sets to move on and off the shiny, expansive stage.
Image: Hosts Julia Sanina, Hannah Waddingham and Alesha Dixon during the second semi-final of the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool
It has been described by its designer as “a wide hug, enfolding Liverpool Arena from above and below as it opens its arms to Ukraine”.
The green room area – where artists gather when not performing on stage – sits in front of the audience.
A Ukrainian lighting designer who would normally be working on Dancing With The Stars or The Voice in his home country has come over specially to work on the show.
Advertisement
A quartet of presenters – Graham Norton, Hannah Waddingham, Ukrainian TV star Julia Sanina, and Alesha Dixon – introduce the show, and if the 26 acts are tired from their numerous test runs, you wouldn’t know it.
First off there’s a flag parade, with all the competing countries walking the full run of the catwalk-style stage in turn, followed by a string of Eurovision fan favourites including cult legend Verka Serduchka.
The main event
Austria open the show with Who The Hell Is Edgar? – a catchy ode (of sorts) to literary great Edgar Allen Poe. It’s a song everyone is talking about.
Wearing black and white jumpsuits, singers Teya and Salena also give a shout-out to Shakespeare in their performance, as well as a loaded dig at how little artists get paid by streaming sites.
Image: Teya and Salena
Portugal’s Mimicat follows, in a blur of red feathers, and a strong flamenco flavour to her song Ai Coracao.
Meanwhile, Switzerland’s war-inspired Watergun is black and minimal, relying on Remo Forrer’s impressive and heartfelt lyrics advocating peace as he sings out: “I don’t wanna be a soldier”.
We’re treated to a setting sun on the big screen for Poland’s catchy Solo, so while the weather here in Liverpool may be a little damp, the sun is shining in the arena. The act gets full pyrotechnics too, bookending singer Blanka’s energetic dance interval.
A quick sweep of the stage later, and a large white sculpture – resembling a half eggshell or H R Giger-inspired skull – contains Serbia’s singer Luke Black, who belts out techno-backed Samo Mi Se Spava (which translates as I Just Want To Sleep).
Skirt drop
France’s La Zarra (the second favourite to win) is quite literally wheeled onto the stage atop a cylindrical platform, which then raises toward the sky, leaving her towering at least 10 ftabove the stage.
Image: La Zarra from France
As the first chorus plays out, she slowly lowers to the ground, at which point her capacious skirts fall to the floor, before the platform is again raised to the heavens and fireworks rain to the ground around her. Clearly channelling Lady Gaga in her look, she says she first learned how to use her voice by singing along to Edith Piaf.
A barefoot and bare-chested Andrew Lambrou then makes his way solo onto the stage but while he may be alone throughout his entire song, he fills the stage with his impressive vocals.
His ballad, Break A Broken Heart, is Cyprus’s entry in the show, and gives him the chance to showcase his impressive high notes.
Spain’s Blanca Paloma enters the stage through a maroon fringed structure, with the song’s chanting anthem also serving as its title, Eaea.
Image: Blanca Paloma from Spain
Paloma has said the song represents a “chant to her late grandmother”, who had inspired much of her music, and it’s fusion with a strong synth line gives it a Eurovision edge.
Favourite to win
Sweden’s act sees another big structure wheeled onto the stage – a rust-brown enclosure, trapping singer Loreen inside, and from which she slowly breaks free as she sings Tattoo. It’s the bookies’ favourite to win and would make Loreen the first two-time female winner of the competition.
Image: Loreen from Sweden
Albania’s Albina & Familja Kelmendi sing Duje (which translates as Love It), with all six band members clad in black cloaks. There are fireworks too. Plus it’s a family affair, with pop star Albina Kelmendi joined by her parents and siblings to perform the song about love and family togetherness.
For Italy’s Due Vite sung by Marco Mengoni, members of the audience are asked to light the torches on their mobile phones and wave them in the air, which the majority dutifully do. A ballad, this one is remarkably similar in staging to Cyprus’s entry (minus the bare chest and bare feet).
Beautiful in sky-blue, Estonia’s Alika plays a grand piano as she sings Bridges, before breaking out onto the wider stage to finish her song, solo throughout.
‘Rave maypole’
One of the buzziest acts of the year, Finland’s Kaarija wears his trademark neon green sleeves-only puffer jacket and bowl haircut and performs his thumping techno track against a backdrop of wooden crates, which appear to have a rave going on inside.
Image: Kaarija, the entrant from Finland
Image: Kaarija and his shadow
Using his shadow to impressive effect, his pink neon backing dancers then dance a sort of rave maypole dance behind him, before kneeling to form a centipede-like creature for him to ride.
Titled Cha Cha Cha, this is an act truly at home in Eurovision, and the audience loves it.
By the half-way point we have seen most of the classic Eurovision act staples – including large structures wheeled on and off the stage, skirts falling to the floor and more backing dancers than you can shake a stick at.
But onto the next act. It’s pastel pink and sparkles for Czechia’s (Czech Republic’s) Vesna, who contrast their floaty feminine costumes with hard-hitting lyrics including: “You can take your hands back, no one wants more boys dead, we’re not your dolls,” in their entry My Sister’s Crown.
Long-haired immigration lawyer and Voyager frontman Danny Estrin rocks out on the bonnet of a full-size car on the stage for Australia’s Duran Duran-inspired rock track Promise.
Image: Australia entrant Voyager
Belgian act Gustaph present their 90s-inspired hit, Because Of You, while wearing a bizarre outfit of candy floss pink trousers and an oversized cream cowboy hat – and hitting impressive high notes.
Armenian singer Brunette is almost a pagan presence with her waist-length hair and wafty white dress, singing Future Lover – another song about a boyfriend like the UK’s entry, but this time it’s an imaginary one.
Pop metal and ballads
Moldova’s Pasha Parfeni performed Soarele si Luna (which means The Sun And The Moon) while performing what looks like a martial art-inspired dance, with the entire song built around metaphors, folk symbols and natural elements. The song is about a wedding and includes him talking to a forest. Oh, and there are drums too.
Electronic duo Tvorchi, made up of producer Andrii Hutsuliak and vocalist Jeffery Kenny, perform Heart Of Steel for last year’s winners, Ukraine. With gold and black colours, it’s just the two of them on stage, with classical strings blasting out at points of their electro-pop track.
Image: Tvorchi of Ukraine
Norway’s act Alessandra wears a bodice and crown in her song Queen of Kings about the power of women – which seems to be a bit of a theme in the show mirrored by acts including Czechia and Norway.
Some pop metal from Germany’s Lord Of The Lost, vocally attacking the audience with their song Blood & Glitter, performed by tattooed frontman Chris Harms in neon pink pants and leopard print tights, and platform patent shoes.
Then quite a mood change to Lithuania’s Monika Linkyte, who sings power ballad Stay in a bright tailored orange mini dress and tidy blonde bob, popping against her backing dancers dressed all in black.
‘Do you want to see me dance?’
A black cube with interior lighting enters the stage for Israel’s Noa Kirel, who sings catchy pop song Unicorn. The majority of the first verse is sung with the stage in near darkness, before she steps out of the square structure to march at the front of the stage with her monochrome backing dancers. There’s even a little rap and acrobatic solo dance break out from Kirel, who asks the audience, “Do you want to see me dance?” It’s quite something to behold and definitely the most energetic of the evening’s dance offerings.
Image: Noa Kirel of Israel
Five pastel-clad lads with guitars and a drum set take to the stage for Slovenia’s act Joker Out, singing Carpe Diem. A bassy number reminiscent of Britpop with a bit of rock thrown in, guitar solos are the order of the day, and some audience participation in the form of clapping along as they rock out.
Quite the whacky act from Croatia – Let 3, singing Mama SC! – a strangely addictive earworm sung by five middle-aged men, who end their act by posing in front of a prop nuclear weapon sporting large fizzing fireworks.
Oh, and four of them strip off mid-song to grey-white vests and pants. The band has apparently been in trouble in the past in their homeland for performing while nude, so all in all, we have a lot to be thankful for. All standard Eurovision fare. Again, this one is well received by the audience.
And last but not least – the UK’s Mae Muller has the final spot in the competition – a decent position and certainly better than risking fading into the crowd in the middle of the show.
Image: Mae Muller of the UK
On a giant raised stage, she sings with her four backing dancers, and lots of bright video graphics behind – mainly large images of Muller’s face with a little pop art treatment. Coming down the stage midway, the central bridge of the song offers Muller the chance to speak directly to the audience in a spoken word section, and by the time the pyrotechnics begin I challenge you not to be tapping your feet.
Muller ends her song, blowing kisses to the crowd.
A Queen star, Abba bandmember and Sonya
Competitive performances complete, Sam Ryder enters the stage with the biggest setup of the show – a mountainous light structure from which last year’s runner-up emerges wearing a twinkling gold jumpsuit that is almost too sparkly for the human eye to bear. Around 30 backing dancers join him on stage with drums to complete the performance.
Image: Sam Ryder performs during the dress rehearsal for the Eurovision Song Contest final
And in quite the coup, Queen drummer Roger Taylor accompanies Ryder on the drums.
Then we’re treated to a section called Liverpool Songbook, with some past Eurovision All Stars singing songs that hail from the host city.
Italy’s Soldi singer Mahmood gives us a version of John Lennon’s Imagine backed by a string quartet; Israel star Netta descends from the sky in a large silver bird and comes close to taking out several backing dancers in her performance thanks to a large gold star on her back.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
1:32
Ukrainian hopes for Eurovision
Iceland’s jumper-loving Dadi Freyr gives us a leftfield cover of Whole Again; anf Sweden’s Cornelia Jakobs performs Melanie C’s I Turn To You while splashing around in a swimming pool on stage.
Liverpool singer Sonya, who narrowly missed out on the Eurovision crown back in 1993, gives her entry Better The Devil You Know one more turn in a purple mini dress and thigh-high boots; and Netherland’s Duncan Lawrence dons a cloak to sing You’ll Never Walk Alone.
A short video then pulls together other Eurovision stars who couldn’t make the show including Abba’s Bjorn Ulvaeus and Italy’s 2021 winners Maneskin.
The hosts then bid farewell in English, Ukrainian and French, marking the truly collaborative nature of the event.
With seamless scene changes between the marathon of acts, the run-through ran without a hitch. It all bodes well – unless you believe the old adage – “bad dress rehearsal, good first night”.
Bring on the real show, and the winners of the Eurovision Song Contest 2023.
Sky News will be in Liverpool covering all the biggest news from the contest as it happens.
Actor Michael Madsen, who starred in Reservoir Dogs and Thelma & Louise, died from heart failure, his cardiologist has said.
The 67-year-old was found unresponsive in his home in Malibu, California, last Thursday and pronounced dead.
His doctor said heart disease and alcoholism will be listed as factors which contributed to the star’s death, reported NBC Los Angeles.
With no suspicious circumstances and the death listed as being from natural causes, the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department considers the case closed.
In a career spanning more than 40 years, Madsen’s film credits include Free Willy, Donnie Brasco and Sin City.
He was also known for his collaborations with director Quentin Tarantino, including in Kill Bill: Vol. 2, The Hateful Eight and Once Upon A Time In Hollywood.
The Chicago-born actor also linked up with Tarantino when he played Mr Blonde in 1992’s Reservoir Dogs.
More from Ents & Arts
Image: Madsen played numerous roles, including Mr Blonde in Reservoir Dogs. Pic: THA/Shutterstock
His sister, Oscar-nominated actress Virginia Madsen, paid tribute to her brother in a statement to Variety.
She wrote: “My brother Michael has left the stage.
“He was thunder and velvet. Mischief wrapped in tenderness. A poet disguised as an outlaw. A father, a son, a brother – etched in contradiction, tempered by love that left its mark.”
Madsen was preparing to release a new book called Tears For My Father: Outlaw Thoughts And Poems.
A statement by managers Susan Ferris and Smith, and publicist Liz Rodriguez, said the book by “one of Hollywood’s most iconic actors” was currently being edited.
Horse-drawn carriages, picturesque gardens and endless cups of tea are just some of the stereotypical tropes that have shaped America’s romanticised image of England before even stepping foot on the island.
Thanks to classical literature and a steady stream of period dramas, Lena Dunham was no exception.
“I had so many fantasies,” she tells Sky News about growing up slightly obsessed with British culture.
“I loved Jane Austen, I loved Charlotte Bronte, I love British film, I was one of those little Anglophile kids.”
The writer and director believed it would be that area of classically depicted England that would fill her time when she first moved to “jolly old London” as a teenager with her mother for a brief time.
Instead, her attention was taken by another, and possibly equally influential group of artists.
“There was a pop show about S Club 7 and all I did was just sit in the hotel and obsessively watch things relating to [the group],” she said.
“So, I didn’t go home with all this cultural British knowledge. I went home with a deep abiding love of S Club 7 and came back to school when everyone was obsessed with the Backstreet Boys and NSYNC.
“For me, I was literally like, ‘Guys, you got to hear this hot track right off the presses, it’s called Reach For The Stars’.”
Image: Pic: Netflix
It wasn’t until her 30s, when the actress moved again to the city, that reality took hold and she quickly learned the difference between the imagined London and the real city.
Some stereotypes hold true, like the universal love for Paddington. Still, TV tropes like renting a flat on a single income in the city does not necessarily mean you’ll be treated to lavish rooms and a picturesque garden.
She says it was social cues she found most challenging to adjust to, as well as the different dictionaries used when speaking, technically, the same language.
“You come to a new country and even though you speak the same language, you’re totally absent from those tools,” she says.
“And I found that really striking as an adult in my 30s, trying to make friends, trying to date. I found it confusing enough to be a person in my own city of origin, so this was extra confounding.”
Too Much, her new Netflixseries, is loosely inspired by her own London chapter and follows a workaholic New Yorker in her 30s who is sent across the Atlantic to work on a new project.
The 10-episode show is produced by Working Title – the company behind Bridget Jones, Notting Hill, About A Boy and Love Actually – and stars Hacks breakout actress Megan Stalter and The White Lotus actor Will Sharpe.
Image: Pic: Netflix
Dunham says she always wanted to write about her time in the UK, but it was a conversation with Irish actor Andrew Scott that got the ball rolling.
“Actually, he’s the reason that I came to know Meg as an actor because he loved her on Hacks and he loved her videos, and he said: ‘Have you watched this woman’s work? I feel like there’s a real connection between you two’, and I started watching because of him and built a show around her.”
In a full circle moment, Scott appears in the series briefly as an arrogantly odd man who crosses paths with Megan Stalter’s character Jessica.
Image: Pic: Netflix
The Ridley actor isn’t the only famous face joining the cast in a cameo role. Dunham put a call out to most of Hollywood, and luckily lots were on board.
To name just a few, guest stars include Jessica Alba, Stephen Fry, Adwoa Aboah, Kit Harington, Rita Wilson, Rita Ora, Richard E Grant, Emily Ratajkowski, Andrew Scott, Prasanna Puwanarajah and Jennifer Saunders.
“It was one of those situations where you just reach for the stars, literally, and then you can’t believe when they appear,” says Dunham.
“It was just a non-stop parade of people that I was fascinated by, wanted to be around, completely enamoured of.”
Image: A whole host of high-profile cameos feature in Lena Dunham’s Too Much
She adds: “I remember asking Naomi Watson, thinking, there’s absolutely no way that you’re going to want to come play this slightly demented woman. And she’s so playful and she’s so joyful and she just wanted to come and engage.
“Also, Jennifer Saunders has meant so much to me for so long, I had the AbFab box set as a kid, and I just think Patsy and Edina are the ultimate kind of messy women.
“She really showed me what comedy could be and… the space that women could occupy in comedy, and so having her come and join the show was really incredible.
“That was an episode that someone else was directing, Alicia McDonald, an amazing director, so I just got to sit and watch at the monitor like I was watching a movie, and it was very surreal for me.”
Former MasterChef host Gregg Wallace has vowed he will “not go quietly”, amid reports that he has been sacked by the BBC.
It comes after the TV hostfaced an investigation, commissioned by MasterChef’s production company Banijay UK, into alleged inappropriate behaviour while working for the BBC.
In November, the 60-year-old stepped back from presenting the cooking show after accusations that he made sexual comments towards staff and celebrity guests on a range of programmes over 17 years.
Image: Gregg Wallace received an MBE for services to food and charity in 2023. Pic: PA
Broadcaster Kirsty Wark, author and actor Emma Kennedy, and presenter Kirstie Allsopp, were among the high-profile figures who made claims of inappropriate behaviour against Wallace.
In a statement, released ahead of the publication of the summary of a report into the claims, the 60-year-old said he had been “cleared of the most serious and sensational accusations” made against him.
However, he said the report, carried out by independent law firm Lewis Silkin, had found him “primarily guilty of inappropriate language between 2005 and 2018”.
Wallace’s statement, published on Instagram, came hours before the BBC News reported that 50 more people had made claims to the corporation against the presenter, including allegations he groped one MasterChef worker and pulled his trousers down in front of another.
In his statement, Wallace labelled BBC News’s claims as “uncorroborated tittle-tattle”.
Wallace wrote: “I have taken the decision to speak out ahead of the publication of the Silkin’s report – a decision I do not take lightly.
“But after 21 years of loyal service to the BBC, I cannot sit in silence while my reputation is further damaged to protect others.
“I have now been cleared by the Silkin’s report of the most serious and sensational accusations made against me.
“The most damaging claims (including from public figures which have not been upheld) were found to be baseless after a full and forensic six-month investigation.
“To be clear, the Silkin’s report exonerates me of all the serious allegations which made headlines last year and finds me primarily guilty of inappropriate language between 2005 and 2018.”
Image: Gregg Wallace on MasterChef. Pic: BBC/ Shine TV 2024
‘I was hired as the cheeky greengrocer – now that’s a problem’
Wallace said he recognised that “some of my humour and language” was at times “inappropriate” and, for that, he apologised “without reservation”.
“But I was never the caricature now being sold for clicks,” Wallace, who also referred to his recent diagnosis of autism, added.
“I was hired by the BBC and MasterChef as the cheeky greengrocer. A real person with warmth, character, rough edges, and all.
“For over two decades, that authenticity was part of the brand. Now, in a sanitised world, that same personality is seen as a problem.”
Image: Wallace and his partner Anna Wallace, pictured in 2014
Wallace: Complaints from ‘middle-class women of a certain age’
Shortly after the allegations first emerged, Wallace recorded a video where he dismissed his accusers as “middle-class women of a certain age”.
His remarks were met with huge criticism – including from Downing Street, where a spokesperson for the prime minister described them as “completely inappropriate and misogynistic”.
Wallace responded by posting a follow-up clip where he apologised and said he “wasn’t in a good space” when he posted the comments.
In April, Wallace spoke to the Daily Mail, denying all accusations against him and saying he had contemplated suicide following the allegations.
Wallace’s lawyers have previously called allegations that he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature “entirely false”.
A spokesperson for the BBC said: “Banijay UK instructed the law firm Lewis Silkin to run an investigation into allegations against Gregg Wallace. We are not going to comment until the investigation is complete and the findings are published.”
A Banijay spokesperson told Sky News: “We won’t be commenting until our report is published.” They have signalled the report will be published later this week or next.
Banijay previously said Wallace is “committed to fully co-operating” with the external review.
Alongside MasterChef, Wallace presented Inside The Factory for BBC Two from 2015 to 2023.
He also featured on various BBC shows over the years, including Saturday Kitchen, Eat Well For Less, Supermarket Secrets, Celebrity MasterChef and MasterChef: The Professionals, as well as being a Strictly Come Dancing contestant in 2014.
More recently, Wallace has been promoting his health and lifestyle website, offering one-to-one coaching from both himself and a team of experts, which includes nutritionists and doctors, and his wife Anna in the role of recipe curator.
Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.