A suite of Eurovision alumni paid tribute to the legendary artists of Liverpool – where this year’s Song Contest was hosted – by performing a medley of classics from the likes of John Lennon, Dead Or Alive and Atomic Kitten.
The 2023 Eurovision Song Contest was hosted last night (May 13) at Liverpool Arena; Sweden came in first place with 583 points, followed by Finland and Israel. The event opened with last year’s champions, Kalush Orchestra, performing their winning song ‘Stefania’. There were several more performances held after the 26 grand finalists took to the stage, including one where Sam Ryder was joined by iconic Queen drummer Roger Taylor.
Following Ryder’s performance was a 14-minute medley of songs by acts native to Liverpool, beginning with a cover of John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’ by Italian artist Mahmood (who competed in Eurovision 2019). Up next was Eurovision 2018 winner Netta, from Israel, who sung a rendition of ‘You Spin Me Around’ by Dead Or Alive. Following that, Iceland’s Daði Freyr (who vied for the top prize in Eurovision 2021) covered ‘Whole Again’ by Atomic Kitten.
The second half of the medley was led by a cover of ‘I Turn To You’ by Mel C – delivered by the Swedish Cornelia Jakobs (the winning country’s representative at Eurovision 2022) – followed by a performance of ‘Better The Devil You Know’ from Liverpool native Sonia (who came second place in Eurovision 1993). Rounding out the ‘Liverpool Songbook’ medley was another Eurovision 2019 contestant, Dutch winner Duncan Laurence, who performed ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ by Gerry And The Pacemakers.
Have a look at all of the ‘Liverpool Songbook’ performances below:
Elsewhere at Eurovision 2023, UK contestant Mae Muller ended the show with a performance of ‘I Wrote A Song’. She came second-to-last in the final ranking, only beating Germany.
Speaking to NME, Sweden’s Loreen said of her contest-winning song: “It’s a love song and I let everybody interpret whatever they want,” she explained, “but what I’m trying to say is that there is no day without night, and there is no love without the opposite either. It’s all necessary.
“We tend to think that the grass is greener on the other side but if you want to experience this deep, authentic love, you have to be aware that the struggle needs to be there too. We can’t run off the moment we feel a little bit of pain.”