Eurovision 2023 has been and gone, and a new winner has been crowned!
This was the 67th edition of the world's biggest and boldest singing competition after all the excitement from Turin last year. This year's slogan was 'United By Music', reflecting both the unique partnership between the UK and Ukraine to bring the Eurovision Song Contest to audiences across the globe and the incredible power of music to bring people together.
Here's everything you need to know about Eurovision 2023, including who took part in the competition, and who won.
Who won Eurovision 2023?
Swedish singer Loreen won Eurovision 2023 with her song, "Tattoo". She scored a total of 583 points overall, 57 points ahead of the runner-up, Finland's Käärijä.
This is Loreen's second win, after previously winning the competition in 2012 with "Euphoria".
When was Eurovision 2023?
The Eurovision 2023 Grand Final took place on May 15, 2023.
Eurovision 2023 Grand Final line-up
Below you can find the running order for the Eurovision Grand Final.
- Austria: Teya & Salena, "Who the Hell is Edgar?"
- Portugal: Mimicat, "Ai Coração"
- Switzerland: Remoe Forrer, "Watergun"
- Poland: Blanka, "Solo"
- Serbia: Luke Black, "Samo Mi Se Spava"
- France: La Zarra, "Évidemment"
- Cyprus: Andrew Lambrou, "Break a Broken Heart"
- Spain: Blanca Paloma, "Eaea"
- Sweden: Loreen, "Tattoo"
- Albania: Albina & Familja Kelmendi, "Duje"
- Italy: Marco Mengoni, "Due Vite"
- Estonia: Alika, "Bridges"
- Finland: Käärijä, "Cha Cha Cha"
- Czechia: Vesna, "My Sister's Crown"
- Australia: Voyager, "Promise"
- Belgium: Gustaph, "Because of You"
- Armenia: Brunette, "Future Lover"
- Moldova: Pasha Parfeni, "Soarele şi Luna"
- Ukraine: TVORCHI, "Heart of Steel"
- Norway: Alessandra, "Queen of Kings"
- Germany: Lord of the Lost, "Blood & Glitter"
- Lithuania: Monika Linkytė, "Stay"
- Israel: Noa Kirel, "Unicorn"
- Slovenia: Joker Out, "Carpe Diem"
- Croatia: Let 3, "Mama ŠČ!"
- UK: Mae Muller, "I Wrote a Song"
Eurovision 2023 Semi-Finals: who took part, and who qualified?
Semi-Final 1:
Croatia, Ireland, Latvia, Malta, Norway, Portugal, Serbia, Azerbaijan, Czechia, Finland, Israel, Moldova, Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland
Who qualified for the Grand Final? Norway, Serbia, Portugal, Croatia, Switzerland, Israel, Moldova, Sweden, Czechia, Finland
Semi-Final 2
Armenia, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Greece, Iceland, Romania, Albania, Australia, Austria, Georgia, Lithuania, Poland, San Marino, Slovenia
Who qualified for the Grand Final? Albania, Cyprus, Estonia, Belgium, Austria, Lithuania, Poland, Australia, Armenia, Slovenia
Who was the UK entry for Eurovision 2023?
The UK entry for Eurovision 2023 was announced as singer Mae Muller, 25, who represented the nation with "I Wrote A Song".
Talking about her involvement, Mae said: "I'm SO excited to participate in Eurovision this year and represent the UK! I've loved watching Eurovision all my life, so to compete in such a massive music competition is simply brilliant.
"I’m a huge fan of so many of the artists that have found success at Eurovision, from ABBA to Måneskin! Sam Ryder was so amazing last year and proved the UK can be back on the left-hand side of the leaderboard! I wrote the song 'I Wrote A Song' a few months ago when I was going through a hard time and wanted to feel empowered about relationships, so for it to be chosen for this year’s UK Eurovision song is honestly a dream!”
You can watch the official music video for Mae's track below:
Which countries took part in Eurovision 2023?
A total of 37 nations took part in this year's competition. Of those nations, 31 competed in the two Semi-Finals, with 10 successful acts from each night joining 4 of the big five countries (France, Germany, Italy, and Spain), the host nation (UK), and Ukraine for the Grand Final.
Below is a full list of the countries that took part, who represented them, and what their songs were called.
- Albania - Albin and Familja Kelmendi, "Duje"
- Armenia - Brunette, "Future Lover"
- Australia - Voyager, "Promise"
- Austria - Teya & Salena, "Who the Hell is Edgar?"
- Azerbaijan - TuralTuranX, "Tell Me More"
- Belgium - Gustaph, "Because of You"
- Croatia - Let 3, "Mama ŠČ!"
- Cyprus - Andrew Lambrou, "Break A Broken Heart"
- Czechia - Vesna, "My Sister's Crown"
- Denmark - Reiley, "Breaking My Heart"
- Estonia - Alika, "Bridges"
- Finland - Käärijä, "Cha Cha Cha"
- France - La Zarra, "Évidemment"
- Georgia - Iru, "Echo"
- Germany - Lord of the Lost, "Blood & Glitter"
- Greece - Victor Vernicos, "What They Say"
- Iceland - Diljá, "Power"
- Ireland - Wild Youth, "We Are One"
- Israel - Noa Kirel, "Unicorn"
- Italy - Marco Mengoni, "Due Vite"
- Latvia - Sudden Lights, "Aijā"
- Lithuania - Monika Linkytė, "Stay"
- Malta - The Busker, "Dance (Our Own Party)"
- Moldova - Pasha Parfeni, "Soarele şi Luna"
- Netherlands - Mia Nicolai & Dion Cooper, "Burning Daylight"
- Norway - Alessandra, "Queen Of Kings"
- Poland - Blanka, "Solo"
- Portugal - Mimicat, "Ai Coração"
- Romania - Theodor Andrei, "D.G.T. (Off and On)"
- San Marino - Piqued Jacks, "Like An Animal"
- Serbia - Luke Black, "Samo Mi Se Spava"
- Slovenia - Joker Out, "Carpe Diem"
- Spain - Blanca Paloma, "Eaea"
- Sweden - Loreen, "Tattoo"
- Switzerland - Remo Forrer, "Watergun"
- Ukraine - TVORCHI, "Heart of Steel"
- United Kingdom - Mae Muller, "I Wrote A Song"
Who hosted Eurovision 2023 for the UK?
UK Eurovision fans were pleased to know that our usual commentator (and all-around Eurovision legend) Graham Norton would be on hand as one of four stars bringing the action to the global audience of 160 million viewers.
Graham said: "It's no secret how much I adore Eurovision, I truly believe it's the greatest show on earth and every year that I'm involved it's a huge honour. This year is even more special and I personally feel a big responsibility to make our Ukrainian colleagues proud. Alongside presenting the Grand Final to the world, I just couldn't resist the opportunity to get back into the commentary box for those watching in the UK"
Graham was joined by a trio of superstars to help bring all the action from the two Live Semi-Finals: Julia Sanina, Hannah Waddingham and Alesha Dixon.
Julia Sanina is a Ukrainian singer, composer and frontwoman of The HARDKISS alt band, whilst Hannah Waddingham is an Emmy Award-winning actress whom Ted Lasso fans will no doubt recognize (though she's no stranger to the stage herself!), and Alesha Dixon is a UK popstar, former Mis-Teeq member and experienced BBC presenter and judge. In short, we're in very good hands!
On the commentary front, Graham Norton shared the commentary box with fellow presenter, Mel Giedroyc. Meanwhile, Ukrainian broadcaster Timur Miroshnychenko served as the Eurovision Correspondent in Liverpool, appearing in VT segments during the live shows, offering insight from the Ukrainian commentary box in the Liverpool Arena and fronting the Opening Ceremony live stream on the Eurovision YouTube Channel with Liverpudlian presenter, Sam Quek.
Who was the UK spokesperson for Eurovision 2023?
Catherine Taterved as the UK's Eurovision spokesperson in 2023, meaning she got to deliver the results of the UK's voting decisions. This was the first time ever that the UK spokesperson will announce the National Jury scores live from the same arena where the actual contest is taking place in the UK.
Of her role, Tate said: "It’s very exciting to be announcing the iconic 'douze points' at Eurovision. It’s just a foot in the door really as next year I hope to be the UK entrant!"
She is due to return to our screens in a new BBC comedy, Queen of Oz, and in the Doctor Who 60th-anniversary miniseries this November.
Who performed at the Eurovision 2023 Grand Final?
The Eurovision 2023 Grand Final opened with a performance entitled 'Voices of A New Generation' and with last year's winners, Kalush Orchestra.
The Eurovision Flag Parade will follow, treating viewers to a unique show featuring some of Ukraine's past contestants which will see GO_A, Jamala, Tina Karol and Verka Serduchka taking to the stage to remind us why they became so iconic.
The first interval performance (when voting will take place) saw Sam Ryder taking to the Eurovision stage after leading the UK to its biggest success at the competition in over two decades last year.
Sam says: "What an honor to be invited back to the Eurovision stage for a second time! I can’t wait to be back amongst the beautiful chaos of it all and to watch the incredible artists perform this time around while bringing you a special performance of our own. Big love!”
The final interval performance was called "The Liverpool Songbook". This act brings five iconic Eurovision artists—Italy's Mahmood, Israel's Netta, Iceland's Daði Freyr, Sweden's Cornelia Jakobs, and Duncan Laurence from the Netherlands —together with Liverpool's own Sonia (who came second back in 1993) to put their own spin on some of Liverpool's biggest contributions to music.
What happened at this year's Handover Ceremony?
The 2023 Handover and Allocation Draw took place in front of a live audience in Liverpool on January 31. Presenters AJ Odudu and Rylan conducted the live draw to see which countries will be participating in each Semi-Final. They were assisted by young people from a local school and members of the Ukrainian community who had settled in the city since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine.
The show also saw Radio 2 DJ Scott Mills presenting a look back at the top hits from the last few years of the show. Plus, some famous faces from Liverpool helped welcome the contest along, and the Mayor of Turin, Stefano Lo Russo, handed over the official keys of the contest to Joanne Anderson, the Mayor of Liverpool.
If you'd like to watch the event, you can stream it on BBC iPlayer. Outside of the UK, you can catch up with the Eurovision 2023 Handover and Allocation Draw on YouTube.
Where was Eurovision 2023 held?
Traditionally, the Eurovision Grand Final is hosted by the winning country, though this year the event is being hosted in honor of last year's winners in the UK, who were the runners-up last year.
Within days of the announcement, 20 cities from across the UK had put in bids to be the next host of the show, but it was decided in late 2022 that Eurovision 2023 would be held in Liverpool.
Who won Eurovision 2022?
The 66th Eurovision Song Contest was won by Kalush Orchestra with their song, "Stefania", which became the first winning song to feature rap. They scooped an incredible 631 points, including a total of 439 from the public vote.
The UK's entry, Sam Ryder, delivered a stellar performance of his song "SPACE MAN", and earned the second place slot. He was award the most points from the international juries (283), with a total of 466 points including 183 from the public.
