Eurovision 2023: 'It brings people together in a wonderful way'

James Sheen hosts Eurovision events and has met several acts over the years

A Eurovision super fan said the song contest brought people and cultures "together in such a wonderful way".

James Sheen, from Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk, holds Eurovision parties at his home and has been to five finals.

Liverpool is hosting this year, with the second semi-final taking place at 20:00 BST and the final on Saturday.

He said: "People singing along, they will be singing in foreign languages - they won't have a clue what they're [singing] and you sing along."

The UK is hosting the event in Liverpool on behalf of Ukraine, after the war-torn country clinched the contest on the public vote in 2022.

It is the first Eurovision Song Contest to be held in the UK for 25 years.

Mr Sheen counts the winner in 1973 for Luxembourg, Anne-Marie David, among his friends that he has made from his love of the song contest

Mr Sheen has been to finals in Vienna, Dusseldorf, Stockholm, Kiev and Lisbon after falling in love with the song contest aged eight.

Through his passion for Eurovision he made friends with 1973 winner Anne-Marie David, who represented Luxembourg and also sang for France in 1979, finishing third.

He has also met Lys Assia, the first winner of Eurovision in 1956 for Switzerland, and in 2018 in Portugal he was given press accreditation to interview the acts.

"I met the wonderful, wonderful Leva from Lithuania and I had the most beautiful interview with her," he said.

He added that during the interview there was a crew "filming the back of my head, which appeared on her next music video".

• When is Eurovision and who's singing for the UK?

Mr Sheen said Eurovision brought "people together in such a wonderful way to enjoy the music - not only enjoying the music, but enjoying other people's cultures, which is very important".

Mae Muller will be representing the UK and Mr Sheen said he liked her and her song

Although Mr Sheen will not be heading to Liverpool, he said those who do would enjoy "that whole vibe of being in the Eurovision village [and] going to the Eurovision clubs".

He said: "Stars from the previous years come back to sing their songs and it is not a case of them and us - it's a case of us, together, we're all together."

Giving his predictions, Mr Sheen said Norway's entry Queen of Kings by Alessandra had a good chance of winning, while previous winner Loreen "will probably be in there for Sweden".

He said he also liked Finland's entrant Käärijä, saying: "I think he's brilliant. He's got a very strange shirt."

Käärijä's rock-pop hybrid Cha Cha Cha is seen as the biggest challenger to Loreen

• All you need to know about Eurovision 2023

• Every song for 2023, from Albania to UK

• Keep up to date with Eurovisioncast

• Grand final, live, Saturday, 13 May 2023, 20:00 BST BBC One and iPlayer