Sweden's Loreen wins Eurovision for the second time
With Daniel Rosney in the arena, Andre Rhoden-Paul and Gem O'Reilly at the Eurovision Village fan zone, and Helen Bushby, Emma Saunders and Mark Savage watching live in Liverpool
With Daniel Rosney in the arena, Andre Rhoden-Paul and Gem O'Reilly at the Eurovision Village fan zone, and Helen Bushby, Emma Saunders and Mark Savage watching live in Liverpool
Live Reporting
Edited by Marita Moloney and Jasmine Taylor-Coleman
All times stated are UK
13) Finland – Eurovision’s Cha Cha Champion
Mark Savage
Watching at the venue
Get ready to have your brain rewired. Finland’s Käärijä has created one of this year’s most unhinged, bravura performances; making him a real challenger for Loreen’s supposed crown.
Cha Cha Cha is a song about the drudgery of the week; and how getting blind drunk and forgetting your worries is the best solution.
The opening couple of minutes are dark and gnarly, full of detuned synths and snarling vocals, until Käärijä downs a piña colada.
That instant, the arena floods with rainbow coloured lights and the music transforms into the sort of thing you’d hear on a Pokémon game.
Discombobulating and bizarre, it’s also a work of outright genius.
Where do the acts sit?
Daniel Rosney
Eurovision reporter, inside the arena
Once the artists have performed on stage they take their seats in booths at the back of the arena.
That bit is called the green room and is where the acts will wait nervously for the next three hours – and where they’ll find out how they were ranked - by national juries and by the public vote.
They’ve got screens in the booths so they can see what their competition will look like to the 160 million watching at home.
No gimmicks with Estonia's commanding ballad
Emma Saunders
Watching at the venue
This is a powerful stripped-back performance from Alika, who is representing Estonia this evening. She sits at an immaculately polished grand piano and there are no gimmicks, which suits this commanding ballad.
She’s dressed in a flowing blue trouser suit with her hair scraped back in a no-nonsense high ponytail.
The vastness of the Eurovision stage can sometimes swallow up solo performers but Alika is in full control of the space. Impressive.
12) Estonia – Building a bridge to your heart
Mark Savage
Watching at the venue
There’s some Adele-level emoting from Estonia’s Alika Milova on this soul-searching ballad.
She starts off hushed and dejected, describing the hardships she’s endured. But as the song builds to a mesmeric climax, she vows to leave the past behind and build bridges to the future.
In a neat visual metaphor, Alika performs the song with a self-playing piano… taking control of the keyboard as she takes back the reins of her life.
'Loreen is an icon'
Gem O'Reilly
Reporting from the Eurovision Village
More support now for Sweden's Loreen, this time from the Euro Village.
I bump into Rebecca from the Netherlands, Natalie from Germany and Eduardo from Portugal.
They tell me how they all met in 2015 on Twitter and this is the first time they’ve been together for Eurovision.
Despite being from different countries they’re all supporting Sweden and are swaying with the Swedish flag.
Rebecca says: “I think she has the best voice, best song, best performance. She’s an icon. I hope Sweden wins but it could also be Finland or Ukraine”.
They saw the rehearsal at the arena and say it’s amazing seeing it all come to life from the village.
Post update
We've put together a WhatsApp group of international Eurovision super fans, who will be sending us their reaction to each performance during tonight's Grand Final.
We've just heard Sweden's act Loreen perform her anthem Tattoo, which is tipped as a favourite to win. Here's what some super fans had to say about it:
"Loreen was very good! I’m more excited by France. And Portugal," Mark says.
"But Loreen may have a song and performance with broad appeal. Let’s see!!"
Maria says Loreen "has an amazing voice" but it was too similar to "the same old Euphoria" - the song Loreen won the 2012 Eurovision with.
"Truly want Loreen to equal Johnny Logan's record," Volodymyr says.
Italy’s melancholic message of lost love
Helen Bushby
Watching at the venue
Due Vite translates into English as “two lives”, and Italy’s Marco Mengoni is singing about two ex-lovers distancing from each other after their break-up.
Marco’s no stranger to Eurovision, having come seventh in 2013 in Malmo, Sweden.
It’s very simple staging, with Marco standing appropriately alone and dressed in black, as he belts out: “We sit in the dark shrouded only/In the sound of the voice...Two lives, look at the mess.”
Let’s hope he gets a cup of a tea and a hug afterwards.
11) Italy – A gravity-defying power ballad
Mark Savage
Watching at the venue
Marco Mengoni is one of the biggest stars in Italy and this song, Due Vite, recently earned the singer his 70th platinum disc.
Conceptually, it’s a metaphor-laden song about two lovers drifting apart, which he illustrates on stage with two gymnasts performing a stunning trampoline routine.
To be honest, the song doesn’t need it. Marco’s vocals are so deep and emotive that you can follow the song’s emotional arc without the distraction.
How did the bookie's favourite go down?
Daniel Rosney
Eurovision reporter, inside the arena
Albania have a tough act to follow: Sweden’s Loreen got the biggest cheer of the night. She's been the long-standing favourite.
Like her semi-final performance on Tuesday, the crowd were hushed at first, but then when the chorus kicked in, people were jumping and waving flags.
Could this be the winner tonight?
Albania's Albina rocking sensational shoulder pads
Emma Saunders
Watching at the venue
Albina is from a musical family (we’re getting Von Trapp vibes) and her clan from Albania are her backing singers. Luckily, it wasn’t So Long/Farewell/Auf Wiedersehen/Goodbye come the end of Thursday’s semi-final and here they are!
2023 might be all about 90s nostalgia but we’ve already had the disco smoke and now the wind machine is getting an airing. 80s-tastic!
I adore this costume. It’s one of several warrior queen looks that you’ll see this evening, with beautiful beading and sensational shoulder pads, not to mention huge floaty black sleeves, which Albina puts to good use. But please keep those sleeves at least a metre from the pyrotechnics.
10) Albania – It’s a family affair
Mark Savage
Watching at the venue
Albania’s entry carries a strong message about the importance of family, so it’s appropriate that singer Albina Kelmendi is accompanied on stage by five of her relatives - siblings Albin, Sidorela and Vesa and her parents Albana and Bujar.
Essentially an intergenerational, Balkan version of the Jacksons, they’re performing a dramatic ballad called Duje. It was inspired by a quote that's often attributed to Mother Teresa ("What can you do to promote world peace?
Go home and love your family") and the performance typically ends with Albina collapsing to her knees in tears.
Despite her passion, the song hasn’t received much love from Eurovision fans; and it was considered a surprise qualifier from Thursday’s semi-final.
Do the acts sing live at Eurovision?
With all of the incredible, pitch-perfect performances we’ve heard so far tonight, you might be wondering if any contestants are lip-syncing.
Eurovision has strict rules which prohibit this, meaning all on-stage performers must sing live.
However, pre-recorded backing vocals have been allowed since 2021 - a move which the European Broadcasting Union said would reduce “the technical burden and cut costs” for the host broadcaster.
But last year Daði Freyr, Iceland’s 2021 Eurovision entrant, called for organisers to change the rules and ban backing track vocals.“It’s just not as interesting,” he said in a tweet.
“I want to know that every vocal is live, but maybe that’s just me”.
Instruments must not be plugged in either, so the music you’re hearing is pre-recorded.
A stag do with a touch of glitter
We've been sent some more fabulous pictures from your Eurovision viewing parties.
Conor Howell-Harte is at a Eurovision themed stag do for his friend Pete in Brighton.
Conor and his husband dressed up as Ukraine acts Verka Serduchka and Go_A, while Pete has come as Sam Ryder.
Sweden takes us clubbing
Emma Saunders
Watching at the venue
Previous winner Loreen is back with another banger! Tattoo is written by the same songwriters behind her last Eurovision triumph, 2012’s Euphoria.
If she goes on to win again, Sweden will equal Ireland’s record of seven Eurovision wins.
I’m feeling quite claustrophobic watching her sandwiched between two huge LED screens (or is it a giant toastie-maker?) Thankfully, our Swedish songstress has clearly been working on those upper arms as she effortlessly manages to push the screens apart (hope she hasn’t broken one of those VERY long nails).
Dressed in a flesh-coloured skintight outfit, Loreen is flying solo on stage tonight but frankly, she doesn’t need anyone else.
9) Sweden – Can the favourite pull it off?
Mark Savage
Watching at the venue
Loreen arrives on stage and does a couple of quick leg stretches before launching into her stormy trance anthem, Tattoo.
It’s a song about a love so powerful it leaves an indelible mark on your body.
Loreen doesn’t care about the pain, and she will walk through the rain. All she cares about is you-hoo-hoo.
It’s a brilliantly effective piece of pop song writing, with two simple melodies that coil around each other, rising in register and intensity until the song reaches a breathless climax.
For good reason, it’s a favourite to win. If Loreen pulls it off, she’ll become the first woman(and second person overall) to win the contest twice.
Raise a glass to Sir Terry Wogan
Helen Bushby
Watching at the venue
It’s time to toast the late Eurovision commentator and broadcaster Sir Terry Wogan.
He allowed himself to have his first drink during his commentary when song number nine came up, so if you want to join in - cheers!
Want to know a bit about Junior Eurovision?
Helen Bushby
Watching at the venue
Here’s a short film about Junior Eurovision from Ukrainian commentator Timur Miroshnychenko, who has hosted it twice.
Some of tonight’s contestants cut their Eurovision teeth in the young people’s version of the event - being part of the show can become a lifetime’s work!
It's getting hot in here...
Daniel Rosney
Eurovision reporter, inside the arena
You can feel the fire that Eurovision is bringing to Liverpool in the arena.
I’m talking about the heat in here.
The crowd are bouncing and so are the participants in the green room - the lit-up booth-style seats between the crowd around the stage and the seating.
You can see some of the acts using their flags to fan themselves.
I don’t have a flag and I’m in a tux right at the top of the arena overlooking the whole spectacle.
Send air, and snacks!
Eurovision confirms Luxembourg to return next year
Earlier, we told you that Luxembourg hoped to return to Eurovision next year.
Now, the song competition has confirmed the news. Luxembourg, five-time Eurovision champions, pulled out of the competition in 1993 due to financial constraints.
Blanca honours her grandmother
Helen Bushby
Watching at the venue
Spain’s Blanca - a costume and set designer - is singing Eaea, inspired by a traditional lullaby about death, sung to her as a child by her grandmother.
She’s initially obscured behind a huge red-fringed curtain, before she emerges, dressed in red and white.
For the non-Spanish speakers among us, she sings: “My child, when I die/May they bury me in the moon/So that I’ll see you every night.”
You could see this as bleak or comforting, or very possibly both.