- Stephen Mackintosh
- BBC Entertainment Correspondent
Alesha Dixon (pictured in 2021) was among the honorees along with Graham Norton, Hannah Waddington and Julia Sanina.
The closing ceremony of the Eurovision Song Contest will be broadcast live to cinemas across the UK for the first time, it has been announced.
Liverpool will host the festival on Saturday 13 May, following two semi-final concerts earlier that week.
Organizers say showing the festival in theaters will encourage fancy dress and singing.
In-person tickets for the closing ceremony at the Liverpool Arena sold out within 40 minutes of being launched earlier this month.
Separately, it was also confirmed that the TikTok platform will be the official entertainment partner of the competition for the second year in a row.
John Travers Cinema Live, which distributes the festival to cinemas, said his company was “delighted” to work with the BBC to bring the competition to the big screen.
We want the audience to have fun, come in groups, dress up and enjoy this historic event on the big screen.
Tickets for the gala screenings, which will air in more than 500 theatres, will be available for purchase from 10am on Monday 27 March.
Viewers can also catch a preview of BBC3’s new dating show I Kissed Parents, hosted by Danny Manoj, before it starts at 8pm BST.
Image copyright PA Media
The colors of the Ukrainian flag can be seen across Liverpool, including the ‘Superlambanana’ sculpture.
The competition is being held in Liverpool after British contestant Sam Ryder finished second behind Ukrainian band Kalush Orchestra last year.
Organizers said England would host the tournament after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine prevented the winning country from hosting the 2023 tournament.
The judges will be “Ted Lasso” star Hannah Waddingham, “Britain’s Got Talent” judge Elisha Dixon, Ukrainian singer Julia Sanina and talk show host Graham Norton.
Image copyright PA Media
May Miller will represent the United Kingdom in the competition with her song “I Wrote a Song”.
May Muller has been chosen as this year’s UK contestant with her song “I Wrote a Song”.
Lulu, Norton and former British contestant Sam Ryder finally joined the mock Eurovision jury for the charity Comic Relief.
Meanwhile, the European Broadcasting Union has confirmed that it has chosen the TikTok platform to broadcast the competition live and publish exclusive programs and behind-the-scenes content.
It comes as the British Parliament said on Thursday it would ban the Chinese-owned app from its devices and networks due to security concerns.
Martin Osterdahl, European Broadcasting Union’s executive supervisor of Eurovision, said: “Millions of new fans of the Eurovision Song Contest discovered the contest through TikTok last year, and we know millions more will be excited about this year’s special event in Liverpool.”
There is also a partnership agreement between TikTok and the “Visit Liverpool” tourism organization, which encourages people to visit the city, signed after the city was chosen to host the competition on behalf of Ukraine, which won last year because of the Russian invasion.
The media app will promote the city’s main platforms and perform in the Eurovision Village – the official fan zone – on Friday 12 May, the evening before the closing ceremony.
“Coffee trailblazer. Social media ninja. Unapologetic web guru. Friendly music fan. Alcohol fanatic.”
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