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
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Flashbacks: The timelapse of the Trafford Centre construction that’s gone viral
Danny Jones
The Trafford Centre might look like some decadent Roman emperor’s palace or as if it was plucked from the heart of Ancient Grecian city, but as anyone old enough to remember it’s opening and/or construction will tell you, it seems strange to think its not even been around for three decades yet.
As Greater Manchester’s and one of the North West’s most famous shopping centres full stop, the iconic attraction first began being built back in 1996, when John Major was Prime Minister, Manchester United were still Premier League champions, Britpop was at its peak and George Michael was number one.
It’s fair to say that a lot has changed since then and although Oasis might be back come 2025, The Trafford Centre and surrounding area are pretty unrecgonisable compared to nearly 30 years ago.
All told, it took approximately 27 months to erect the neo-classical epicentre of all things shopping, leisure, food and fanciness – and here’s what the process looked like:
With the initial 14 million sq ft shopping centre being completed in September 1998 following approximately 810 days of work, The Trafford Centre debuted to the Manc public and beyond.
It took more than 3,000 builders to bring the 60 hectare site to life at the peak of construction and since then the plot has only grown bigger, bolder and more ambitious over time.
Present day, it has everything from cinema screens and a mini Legoland to a Sea Life location, multiple bowling alleys and countless other forms of entertainment beyond just rows of shops and restaurants – hence why it remains busy pretty much year-round.
Back then, British celebrities, popular local names of note, politicians, dignitaries and prominent figures from the retail industry got to visit as part of exclusive preview events in the days before its launch date.
You can see the spectacle and fascination surrounding the official opening event here:
Seems surreal watching this today but the construction of the Trafford Centre was a huge moment not just for 0161 but all of the North.
But of course, the entire complex itself has seen multiple extensions over the years, including massive developments such as Barton Square and The Great Hall.
At the outset, it cost more than £600 million to build The Trafford Centre; the major renovations mentioned above which took place in 2008 cost another £100m and the Trafford Palazzo revamp around a decade later came in at around £75m.
There has and always will be lots of money put behind this intruguing monument to modern consumerism, and big brands will continue to flock to open units within the huge expanse whenever they can: some of the most recent being Archie’s, Flying Tiger, Sephora, Tiffany, Gymshark and more.
We’ll admit the aesthetic still makes us double-take from time to time (though not as much as confused Londoners visiting for the first time), but it’s not like this part of the world hasn’t boasted plenty of other curiosities in the past…
Featured Images — Charles Bowring (via Wikimedia Commons)/The Manc Group
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‘Nothing is eternal’: Is Pep Guardiola hinting at the end of Manchester City’s supremacy?
Danny Jones
Pep Guardiola looks to have suggested that more than a decade of Manchester City’s supremacy and Premier League dominance at the very least might be coming to an end.
Speaking in his post-match press interviews after City were knocked out of the Champions League by serial European Cup winners Real Madrid, Guardiola cut a somewhat more deflated figure than usual following the 3-1 defeat.
A Kylian Mbappe hattrick which was closed out within an hour of play was enough to stretch the aggregate score to 6-3 over the two legs and Madrid doubling their lead across the tie proved yet again why, not unlike City domestically over the last decade, they’re the kings of the continental competition.
In contrast, however, Pep seemed to accept the loss much more easily than perhaps we’ve seen in the past and rather than appearing familiarly frustrated or defiant in the press conference; instead, he seemed rather reflective, responding to one reporter: “Nothing is eternal”.
🗣️ "Nothing is eternal" – Pep Guardiola.
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Insisting that they have to decide whether a significant rebuild is needed to keep competing at the very top level consistently as they have done since the 54-year-old arrived back in 2016, he argued that it is only with that they’ll be able to determine what comes next.
As for the result itself, he made no bones about Carlo Ancelotti’s side having “deserved it”, stating simply that “the best team won” and that fans and players alike have to “accept the reality: they were better.”
Having been a familiar foe for Pep long before he arrived in Manchester, both at Barcelona and Bayern Munich – not to mention City having faced Los Blancos a dozen times before Tuesday night since 2012 – there have been less surprising outcomes for supporters to come to terms with.
“With time, the club and everyone is going to accept what it is but for now we have 30/40 games for the Premier League next season to try and be here [in the Champions League] and to improve. Nothing is eternal”, said the Catalan coaching genius.
On the other hand, he also went on to add that it was merely a reflection on the night itself and not what his team have achieved in recent years.
He went on to remark that “when we were playing outstanding it hurt more” to be knocked out of the UCL when he felt they deserved to stay in it, but still insisted: “We have been unbelievable and we have to try step by step to get better from today.” Tonight just wasn’t the night.
Who knows? Perhaps it was just some more melodrama from a manager with an undeniable flare for pageantry and playing into/in the face of narratives when he doesn’t come out on top – which hasn’t happened all that often until their dip in form this season.
Plus, there’s certainly still plenty for him and the fans to be positive about; not only has the arrival of their ‘Egyptian Prince’ and the media’s Mo Salah successor, Omar Marmoush, got plenty of people excited – especially after that first-half hattrick against Newcastle – but so too have the other January signings.
In fact, for all of his downplaying in this particular presser (which you can hear in full HERE), it felt like there were only upsides after their victory over Newcastle, even going so far as to dub new signing Nico Gonzalez a ‘mini-Rodri‘.
You can watch the highlights from the game down below:
Pep is right, nothing is eternal – but sometimes you just come up against talents like Mbappe and there’s very little anyone can do about it.
Emily Sergeant -
7th March 2023 
