Eurovision comes to Liverpool! Music acts from across Europe arrive for grand welcome party

The participants of the 67th Eurovision Song Contest have arrived in Liverpool for the big welcome party, a week before taking the stage for the grand final.

One by one, the flamboyant music acts found their way to the official opening of the ‘turquoise’ carpet.

The event is hosted by Liverpool native Sam Quek and Ukrainian commentator Timur Miroshnychenko.

France and Spain have been drawn to perform in the first half of the Grand Final, while the UK will perform last.

The semi-finals will take place on Tuesday 9 May and Thursday 11 May.

Favorites for the competition are Britain’s Mae Muller, France’s La Zarra and Spain’s Blanca Paloma.

Muller has said her training for the Eurovision Song Contest was “like a boot camp” as she reflected on the challenges of being an emerging artist in the music industry.

The 25-year-old singer will represent the UK at the Eurovision song contest in Liverpool in the grand final on May 13 with her song I Wrote A Song, which features tongue-in-cheek lyrics about a cheating ex-boyfriend and a propulsive dance. defeat.

In an interview with The Sunday Times, Muller admitted that she would like to do well in the competition, but that it has been ‘non-stop for two months’, describing it as ‘kind of a boot camp’.

The London-born singer was confirmed as the UK Eurovision act in early March and has since made appearances at a number of Eurovision events ahead of the big day, including meeting the King and Queen.

Muller joined the royal couple as they unveiled the spectacular podium of the match in Liverpool, with Charles telling her: “We will be watching you with great interest – urging you on.”

She also has pressure to follow in the footsteps of runner-up Sam Ryder last year with his uplifting pop song Space Man, which gave the UK its best result in over 20 years.

Due to its success, the United Kingdom was chosen to host this year’s contest on behalf of war-torn Ukraine as it continues to face the Russian invasion.

In addition to this pressure, Muller also reflected on how the music industry’s evolution into streaming and viral moments has added tension.

She told the newspaper, “My label told me not to rush. I came just before TikTok was a thing, so I didn’t need overnight viral success.

“They wanted to develop me and that’s a dying idea because after TikTok took over, it’s about how fast you can go. That’s sad.

“The whole point of a label is to give you time, but now they won’t sign anyone unless they’ve already had a viral hit.”

She added, “It’s no longer, ‘My song’s on the radio. I made it.” There are many boxes to check.

“It depends on what your version of success is, but it’s weird. I sit at home with seven million listeners a month and think: “But how well are things going?” It can be shocking.’

The singer had a viral moment with her 2021 song Better Days, which hit the charts after gaining popularity on TikTok as part of a challenge that saw its streams reach over a million across all platforms.

Despite the challenges, she feels that things are changing within the industry that are making women more vulnerable.

‘Music is about what sells and labels are business. It used to be: sex sells. Nobody wants to hear about crying and feeling.’

But it’s changing,” she said. “I wanted to be honest about my vulnerability. Women are told, especially in music, to be good role models. But you don’t always have to be.’