Late TV presenter Paul O'Grady is among the stars in the Eurovision 2023 welcome film, which is already available to view now and will open the competition tonight.
Paul O'Grady, originally from Birkenhead, filmed his part in the welcome movie shortly before he passed away on March 28.
According to the BBC, O'Grady took part in the film as he wanted to mark his pride in his home region of Merseyside which is home to Liverpool, the city playing host to the international singing competition.
Further famous faces you can see in the film include Great British Bake Off judge Paul Hollywood, Ukrainian Strictly Come Dancing professional dancer, Nikita Kuzman, actor Ricky Tomlinson (who'll be revisiting his Brookside character, Bobby Grant), and Ukrainian Everton footballer, Vitalii Mykolenko, and Drag Race UK star Sister Sister, to name a few.
The special film is called "Welcome to Liverpool" and will air later today (Tuesday, May 9) on BBC One and BBC iPlayer at 8 pm to open the first Eurovision 2023 semi-final. In it, we follow a young Liverpudlian lad who discovers his home city is hosting the international event. From there, he journeys across Liverpool to tell everyone he knows about the world's greatest music competition coming to town.
During his travels, he meets some special guests with their own personal connections to the city who are also making their own preparations to welcome Ukraine to the city. O'Grady will be seen preparing his own home in anticipation of Eurovision's arrival, vacuuming whilst holding one of his beloved pet pooches.
Whilst the film is set to open the first semi-final, it's already been released online; you can watch it below.
We're now in the final stages of build-up for the Eurovision Song Contest 2023. The two semi-finals are set for Tuesday, May 9, and Thursday, May 11, which will decide which countries will be joining the Big Five in the live Eurovision Grand Final on Saturday, May 13. If you're looking to join in all the fun, don't forget to check out our guide to how to watch the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 online.
