The BBC has announced that tickets to the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest officially go on sale to the public today.
With the UK set to host the 2023 edition of the world’s biggest song competition on behalf of 2022 winners Ukraine, fans from across the globe will descend on Liverpool on Saturday 13 May – and for those keen to watch one of the live shows in person, tickets go on sale today.
Eurovision fans who want to try their chances at securing tickets to either one of the Semi Finals or the Grand Final itself will need to be poised and ready.
Big #Eurovision2023 news! Tickets will be on sale from midday GMT on Tuesday 7th March 🎉
It’s not just the televised shows that fans can grab tickets for either, as there’s a total of nine live shows at the this year’s Contest – which is being staged at the Liverpool Arena from Monday 8 May, until the main event on Saturday 13 May.
There’ll be an Afternoon Preview Show and an Evening Preview Show for both of the two Semi Final events and the Grand Final, all before the Live TV Shows are then recorded at 8pm that evening, and studio audiences are to head on down and sing to their heart’s content at each one.
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Fancy having a crack at securing tickets then? Here’s everything you need to know.
Official artwork for the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 / Credit: Eurovision Song Contest
What time do tickets go on sale? And how much do they cost?
Tickets to the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 go on sale at 12pm (GMT) on Tuesday 7 March.
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Tickets are priced from £30 to £290 for each of the Semi Final shows, and from £80 to £380 for the Grand Final shows – all depending on the seats and packages.
How many tickets can I buy?
You can only buy tickets for one show at a time.
For the three live televised shows, customers can purchase a maximum of four tickets in one order, but for the six preview shows, you can buy a maximum of six tickets.
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This year’s Contest is being held in the North West city of Liverpool / Credit: Eurovision Song Contest
What’s the differences between each show?
The Afternoon Preview Show – usually referred to as the ‘Family Show’ – is a full run-through of that day’s Live TV Show, and serves as one final rehearsal for the artists and crew, and as the name suggests, it’s much more convenient for those who wish to bring younger Eurovision fans.
The Evening Preview Show – often referred to as the ‘Jury Show’ – is also a full run-through of that day’s Live TV Show when it comes to the Semi Finals, but in the case of the Grand Final, it’s when the international juries cast their votes for the participants.
And then the Live TV Show is exactly what it says on the tin.
Where do I buy tickets?
Tickets will only be available to purchase from Ticketmaster, regardless of the country you’re booking from, and you can only purchase tickets for one show at a time.
You must have a Ticketmaster account to purchase tickets, and fans are encouraged to create their account in advance of Tuesday 7 March.
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Kalush Orchestra of Ukraine as they were crowned winners of last year’s Contest / Credit: Eurovision Song Contest
How tricky will it be to get tickets? What’s my best shot at securing them?
As it probably goes without saying, demand for tickets is expected to be high, but as fans who have travelled to a Contest before will tell you, traditionally, it can be easier to secure tickets for the Preview Shows than one of the Live TV Shows.
“Preview Shows have all of the content and performances of the broadcast shows, but leave you free to watch the Live TV Show as it was intended… on the television,” Eurovision says.
The Government has already announced earlier this year that 3,000 tickets will be made available for those Ukrainians who have been forced from their homes and are living in the UK – meaning they can attend one of the Live Shows and help mark the Ukrainian group Kalush Orchestra’s victory at last year’s Contest.
Featured Image – Eurovision Song Contest
Trending
ITV to be bought out by Sky in transformational British broadcasting deal worth £1.6 billion
Danny Jones
In a watershed moment for British broadcasting, Sky has reached a transformational agreement worth more than £1.6 billion to buy out ITV in a landmark takeover deal.
With Sky already owned by US telecommunications corporation Comcast, this is set to be one of the biggest shakeups in TV and streaming for some time.
Talks actually started last November, but the process to complete a buyout like this has obviously taken a significant amount of time and money already.
It’s also worth noting that the deal is still pending full approval from the relevant regulators; nevertheless, it’s fair to say that it could change the face of the British media giants – who are based here in Greater Manchester over at MediaCity – but might signal a significant overhaul of our media landscape.
The Sky Group have assured there will be no immediate change to popular shows and will not be put behind a paywall at present (for now, anyway), with ITV still under a free-to-air service until 2034 as part of its public licensing contract.
Aquisitons/mergers of this size like this don’t come around very often, at least not across this side of the pond, with the growing Disney’s growing multinational monopolisation being one of the biggest examples of conglomerates mopping up major networks and huge brands over the past decade.
Writing in a statement, Sky said: “The UK media market is undergoing a profound and rapid transformation, and as competition for audiences intensifies, scale matters more than ever in order to compete with global streaming giants and YouTube in the UK.
“Viewers will continue to enjoy the shows they know and love, such as Coronation Street, Emmerdale, Love Island, I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!, This Morning, Loose Women, Lorraine and News at Ten – alongside major live sporting events.”
That lattermost example feels particularly poignant at the moment, as this also means that the likes of ITV’s impressive World Cup coverage will come under the Sky umbrella in the near future.
ITV agrees sale of media and entertainment business to Sky for up to £1.6bnhttps://t.co/UtgO9REejy
It’s being seen as an ambitious attempt to shake up traditional terrestrial telly and digital platforms, with the ‘old guard’, as it were, having to move forward and fast to keep up with the mercurial market becoming evermore dominated by streaming services.
Of course, there are plenty raising questions and concerns over yet another domestic institution becoming deeper and deeper entwined with big American business; on the other hand, former ITV chairman Sir Peter Bazalgette, who still owns shares, says the deal was “essential” for its survival.
ITV will also receive £1.2bn in cash and Sky’s Love Productions business in return for ownership of their media and entertainment arm, whose shows include the Great British Bake Off.
Moving forward, ITV will also get a further £200m in 2028 if they meet revenue targets when it comes to advertising, with Sky promising to spend over £2.1bn on content from ITV Studios over a five-year period. You can read the full update from ITV right HERE.
Featured Images — James West (via Flickr)/Publicity picture
Trending
Wayne Rooney ‘agrees’ to bizarre bet ahead of 2026 FIFA World Cup quarter-finals
Danny Jones
England and Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney has seemingly roped himself into a bizarre bet of his own making after yet more teams booked their place in the quarter-final stages of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
It’s not quite Gary Lineker doing Match of the Day in his underpants after Leicester won the league, level, but we’d still pay to see it.
However, after the bedlam following England booking their spot in the quarter-finals this morning (feels odd to say and we’re still not quite sure what day it is), you might be surprised to learn it has nothing to do with the Three Lions’ historic victory.
It does have to do with who they’ll be facing in their next game, though: Norway, as Rooney seemed confident enough in his prediction that the Scandinavian side wouldn’t make it into the final eight that he wagered he’d row down the River Mersey. Well, they did…
Yes, in case you missed it, the Norwegians did make it past Brazil with a 2-1 win – and, of course, more goals for Erling Haaland – before Thomas Tuchel’s side had barely even woken up for their very long day at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico.
While no one was quite sure why ‘Wazza’ was quite so confident that the ‘Seleção’ were going to go through, especially since Norway had shown just as much star power in spells in the opening four rounds, he still decided to throw down the gauntlet on himself.
As you can see in the clip above, he says he’s a “man of [his] word” and looks to have even roped in the likes of fellow former pros turned punditry colleagues on the night, Micah Richards and Joe Hart.
That being said, he did make the caveat that perhaps it would be better if the BBC could somehow sort them to sail down the Hudson River in New York instead, simply for the sake of ‘time’.
We’re not sure exactly how easy it is for the British broadcasters to simply secure permission to take a rowboat down one of the busiest and most famous waterways in the world, but you never know.
Here’s hoping they at least try to make something happen, anyway.
There’s been plenty of curious and comedic moments already this tournament, but for anyone who hasn’t yet watched Harry Kane’s post-match following the tense 3-2 thriller against Mexico, you really need to.
He was given the chance to chat to the media once again after his voice recovered, but let’s just say the memes that have already come from THAT interview are almost as memorable as the match itself.
Emily Sergeant -
7th March 2023 
