By Paul Sandle and Sarah Mills
LIVERPOOL, England (Reuters) -The grand final of Eurovision 2023 kicked off on Saturday with last year’s winner Kalush Orchestra performing on video in Ukraine and live in Liverpool, the northern English city hosting on behalf of the country that is fighting Russia’s invasion.
Organisers have walked a tightrope between reflecting the situation in Ukraine and steering clear of overt politics not allowed in the contest, which attracted 37 countries this year.
Britain’s Kate, Princess of Wales made a surprise appearance playing piano on video in the opening segment.
The 26 acts that qualified for the grand final span musical styles from ballads to heavy rock to rap, starting with Austria’s Teya & Salena performing “Who The Hell is Edgar?”, a pounding track inspired by 19th century writer Edgar Allan Poe.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was barred from addressing worldwide viewers – who numbered 160 million last year – by organiser the European Broadcasting Union.
It said granting his request, which was made with “laudable intentions”, would be against the non-political nature of the event and its rules prohibiting making political statements.
Ukraine, however, is set to figure prominently in the show, which has the theme “United by Music”. Ukrainian singer Julia Sanina is a presenter, alongside Hannah Waddingham, star of theatre and TV show “Ted Lasso”, pop singer Alesha Dixon and TV star Graham Norton.
Fans arriving at the arena on the banks of the river Mersey were draped in the flags of Ukraine, Britain and the other 24 contenders.
The arena can hold about 6,000 plus many thousand more can watch in a fan zone.
Pam Minto, a 37-year-old support worker from Liverpool, said she was proud of her city and hoped it was doing Ukraine proud.
“We’ve just loved the whole event right across Liverpool from start to finish, it’s just been amazing,” she said.
Ukrainian Anastasiia Iovova, a 31-year-old teacher who is currently living in Leeds, northern England, said Liverpool felt like home abroad.
“We’re so proud to be here, so proud that people in UK are supporting us in everything and we are so grateful about this,” she said.
The winner is decided by a combination of points awarded by juries and viewers in each competing country, plus for the first time viewers in other countries, who will carry the weight of one participating country.
(Reporting by Paul Sandle; editing by Jason Neely)
