Eurovision 2023: Tickets for Liverpool sell out after huge demand
- Published
Watch: Eurovision fan Josh's attempt to get tickets was an emotional rollercoaster
Tickets to the Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool in May sold out in 90 minutes after huge demand.
Grand final tickets sold out inside 36 minutes on Tuesday. Around an hour later organisers said the other public shows were also fully booked.
There will be six public dress rehearsals, as well as two live televised semi-finals and the final.
Fans across Europe faced long queues on the Ticketmaster UK website in the hope of securing a spot at one of the shows.
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This will be the first time the UK has hosted the contest for 25 years, and it is doing so on behalf of 2022 winners Ukraine.
A BBC spokesperson said: "As expected, demand for Eurovision Song Contest tickets was extremely high and tickets for all nine shows sold out in 90 minutes.
"Congratulations to those who secured their seats to Liverpool Arena in May. We are now looking forward to putting on a brilliant show for our global TV audience and those watching on BBC One in the UK."
According to the broadcaster, this is believed to be the first time all nine shows have sold out on the first day.
About 6,000 tickets were on sale for each show - lower than the arena's 11,000 capacity because of the size of the set and the requirements of such a large-scale TV broadcast.
Standard ticket prices ranged from £30 to £380. Some tickets soon appeared on secondary ticketing sites, such as Viagogo, for around £9,000.
However, fans have been warned to be cautious about buying from unofficial resellers, as the tickets may not be genuine.
Last month, it was announced that 3,000 tickets would be distributed to Ukrainians living in the UK through a ticket ballot, at a subsidised price of £20.
'Really stressful' process
Veronica Skrimsjo was "really relieved" to get her hands on tickets for one of the previews
The successful fans included Veronica Skrimsjo, originally from Sweden, who now lives in Liverpool.
"I'm really relieved," she told BBC North West Tonight. The process was "really stressful", she said, but added: "It's so exciting and I just love being part of it and the anticipation of it. I'm looking forward to it so much.
"It's nice to be able to showcase what Liverpool has to offer because it's a great city."
Mark from York told BBC News he gave up after a bad experience online, and is now planning to have a party in his garden instead.
He explained: "I expect I'm like a lot of people. Tried to log in early, Ticketmaster forced a password change for which the activation code took 15 minutes to arrive in my email, eventually log in and then can't even join the queue - just relentlessly in a loop in the lobby.
"Absolute rubbish."
Grahame Alexander Robertson, 54, from Manchester, said he "didn't think for a second" he would have any joy - but was "over the moon" to be successful.
"I'm sure listening to Abba had something to do with me getting the tickets," he said. "The pop gods were smiling."
But 34-year-old James Lacey in Liverpool said he got to number 62 in the queue when "something went wrong" and he was kicked out. When he was eventually able to log back in, tickets for the final - the only event he could attend, due to work - had gone.
"I knew chances were slim," he said. "It feels very unfair to get that close and not have a ticket."
Ticketmaster said on Tuesday afternoon that "a very small number of fans experienced issues accessing the queue" for tickets online.
Why the arena won't be at full capacity
There may be 160 million people around the world who will watch the song contest at home, but seats in the M&S Bank Arena are much more limited.
Roughly 6,000 fans will be at each show - fewer than most would predict for the biggest entertainment show in the world.
Eurovision organisers said last year that its venue normally needs to have space for 10,000 spectators - which Liverpool's arena usually does. But because of the stage set-up, as well as other production elements, that will be reduced.
A mock-up of how Liverpool's M&S Bank Arena is expected to look hosting the Eurovision Song Contest
It was inevitable that many fans would be disappointed not to get tickets because it wasn't just those in the UK grappling with Ticketmaster's website - people travel from all over the world for Eurovision each year.
Last year's event in Turin had 7,500 for each show, and at times that felt quite intimate inside.
It means those who do have tickets will get a close view of everything going on, from camera operators running around to artists getting points (or not).
Talk now will move to what next for those who were unsuccessful, and also who the UK act is.
What if I didn't get a ticket?
The semi-finals and grand final will be broadcast on BBC TV and radio, with extensive coverage online.
There will also be lots going on in Liverpool beyond the arena. A two-week cultural festival will take place from 1 May, including a submarine street parade, a rave that will take place simultaneously in Kyiv, and an outdoor operatic Eurovision concert.
Liverpool's Pier Head will host the official Eurovision village
Close to the arena will be the Eurovision village, the official fan zone, for 25,000 people.
During the televised live shows, fans will be able to watch on big screens there, and it's also where some of the acts will perform on stage across the week.
There will also be more big screens and viewing parties at venues across the city.
Who might represent the UK?
Sam Ryder came second last year for the UK at Eurovision
There's a Eurovision deadline next week, when all 37 competing broadcasters have to confirm the song and artists they're sending.
Possible names being reported for the UK include Rina Sawayama, Birdy and Mimi Webb. All three are past Brit Award nominees, showing it's being taken seriously. As in recent years, there is no televised national selection show.
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Whoever gets picked will hope to replicate the success of Sam Ryder, who achieved the UK's best Eurovision result for 25 years when he came second in 2022.
Most of the other 36 participating countries have now revealed their artists and songs, external.
All the build-up, insights and analysis is explored each week on a new BBC podcast called Eurovisioncast.
Eurovisioncast is available on BBC Sounds, or search wherever you get your podcasts from.
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