In what was an awkward moment of live TV, BBC North West interviewed a Eurovision fan dressed as Finland’s act thinking it actually was him.
In case it’s not really on your radar, this week is officially Eurovision week, and fans of the world’s biggest song contest from all across the globe have descended on Liverpool as the North West city hosts the 2023 edition for the UK on behalf of last year’s winners Ukraine.
A total of 37 countries from all across the continent have submitted songs for consideration in this year’s contest, but only six countries automatically qualify for the Grand Final this Saturday (13 May), which are reigning champions Ukraine, and the ‘Big Five’ – UK, France, Italy, Spain, and Germany – while the rest all need to battle it out for their spot.
Last night was the first Semi Final live show – with 15 countries competing for a place in the Grand Final on Saturday, but only 10 qualifying.
And Finland was one of those countries competing, and successfully qualifying.
— Eurovision Song Contest (@Eurovision) May 9, 2023
Finland’s act this year is a pretty unique and memorable entry, to say the least, as singer Käärijä took to the M&S Bank Arena stage in Liverpool last night dressed in an eye-catching bright green outfit to perform his song ‘Cha Cha Cha’, which is described as being an “intoxicating blend of industrial metal and hyperpop”.
Currently second in the bookies’ odds behind Sweden’s returning superstar Loreen, Käärijä could’ve been considered a bit of a wildcard, but the Finnish rapper has ended up becoming both a critics and fan favourite – with thousands across the world now familiar with who he is and what he looks like.
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With Käärijä on his way to stardom, BBC North West Tonight managed to secure a live TV interview with him after booking his place in the Grand Final last night.
Except it wasn’t actually him at all, it was just an enthusiastic Eurovision fan dressed up like him.
The awkward mix-up was part of a wider news segment where BBC North West Tonight reporters headed out onto the streets of Liverpool to interview fans about the show and their experience in the city so far.
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The presenter asked the Käärijä superfan: “How do you think Liverpool has done out there?”, to which they responded: “Incredible. In comparison with the countries that I’ve been [to] this is better organised, everything is walking distance and it’s so friendly. Everything is just so easy around here, it’s incredible.”
As the fan spoke, a title card appeared underneath reading “Käärijä – Finland entrant”, and viewers took to social media to react and point out the error.
The second Semi Final will air tomorrow at 8pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer, before the Grand Final hit screens from 8pm on Saturday 13 May.
Featured Image – BBC North West Tonight
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Manchester City finally release special Year of the Horse collection for Lunar celebrations
Danny Jones
Manchester City have officially launched their new ‘Year of the Horse’ kit, along with several other items in their latest lifestyle range.
The collection, which has been released as part of the Lunar New Year Celebrations, was leaked online in late 2025 before being officially teased earlier this year, but now Man City have fully unveiled the limited edition clothing items.
It follows the commercial success of their previous Chinese New Year-inspired kits and wider fashion lines over the last few seasons.
For anyone not up to speed on their Zodiac calendar knowledge, 2026 is officially (you guessed it) the year of the horse, hence this choice for the new ‘Capsule Collection’.
“Set in earthy, neutral tones, the limited-edition Year of the Horse Capsule Collection captures both the stillness of vintage Chinese portraiture and the motion of a team in full stride.”
Revolving around a grey and almost beige colour palette, the full drop includes a new pre-match ‘Anthem’ jacket, a dark graphic design tee, a baseball cap, as well as a soft horse plushie.
The focal point, however, is obviously the jersey itself – though it remains to be confirmed whether or not the special seasonal strip will be worn in any games this campaign as other one-off/special limited edition shirts have been in the past.
The price points range from £15 for the soft toy to £90 for the adult shirt, with the aforementioned Puma KING Anthem zip-up jacket already available in six colours.
What do you make of the latest lifestyle collection, Blues?
Somewhat fittingly, the Year of the Horse and other items finally debuted on the same day that their local rivals across the other side of town, Manchester United, released some new threads of their own: the second Adidas x The Stone Roses collection.
As for this years Lunar celebrations, the official plans for here in Manchester city centre have now been revealed. You can find out more down below.
Manchester United officially launch second Adidas fashion collab with The Stone Roses
Danny Jones
After several weeks of teasers, the latest fashion collab between Adidas, Manchester United and The Stone Roses has officially revealed.
We have no doubt this one will be lapped up just as quickly as the first.
Following images of the new Stone Roses x Man United kit and the focal point of this new collection being leaked online earlier this month, the second drop by Adidas has now been unveiled in full.
Releasing another stylistic video to the tune of the legendary Manc band’s famous anthem, ‘I Wanna Be Adored’, players both past and present from the men’s and women’s team star in the launch video.
As you can see, not only did the players get involved with the shoot as expected, but the clip also includes a snippet of archive footage featuring a young Ian Brown in a short but profound talking head.
The Stone Roses frontman, and indeed other members of the band, have never made their love of United a secret – none more so than the late, great Gary ‘Mani’ Mounfield – and the supporters have also shared plenty of it back.
Be it through ‘This Is The One’ being chosen by Gary Neville as the official walk-out song at Old Trafford and various chants sung to Stone Roses tunes, to the previous collab back in February 2024, the two iconic cultural brands pretty much go hand in hand.
Besides the next multi-coloured paint-splashed shirt, which leaked first, as well as a new bucket hat (again, very era appropriate), there are scarves, a graphic design t-shirt, two sets of shorts and even two different pairs of shoes.
Images of the white Stone Roses trainers also popped up in leaks across various Man United fan accounts on social media, but few had seen the black ZX 600 Adidas trainers until now.
What do you make of the latest batch of lifestyle fashion from the club?
Meanwhile, with just days left in the transfer window, it remains to be seen whether new interim manager Michael Carrick will be rewarded for his first two wins against the top two in the league with any reinforcements before the end of January – but there are some rumblings…
Emily Sergeant -
10th May 2023 
