Photo Credit: Michael Doherty / CC by 4.0
Eurovision Song Contest will be broadcast to British cinemas for the first time ever.
This year, the Eurovision Song Contest will be broadcast live in cinemas across the UK for the first time. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has confirmed the grand finale of this year’s Eurovision contest to take place in the UK city of Liverpool on May 13, beamed live into cinemas, where they also encourage “fancy dress and singalongs.”
The UK took second place last year with British entry Sam Ryder, but the country will be hosting Eurovision this year in honor of last year’s winner Ukraine, currently embroiled in a war with Russia. Eurovision has thus sparked imagination in the UK this year, with tickets for seats in the Liverpool arena having sold out within 40 minutes of going on sale.
“We want audiences to enjoy themselves, come along in groups, get your fancy dress on, and come together to enjoy this historic occasion on the big screen,” says John Travers of CinemaLive, distributor of the event to cinemas across the country.
Tickets for cinema screenings for the event will be available to buy beginning March 27, 10 AM BST, to be broadcast in more than 500 cinemas.
Meanwhile, TikTok has been confirmed as a significant sponsor and live stream partner for the event for the second year running. This news comes the same week the UK Parliament said it would block the Chinese-owned service from government-owned devices and networks over security concerns.
“Millions of new Eurovision Song Contest fans discovered the event through TikTok last year, and we know millions more will be excited by this year’s extra special event in Liverpool,” says Martin Osterdahl, Eurovision executive supervisor for the EBU.
The Eurovision Song Contest will be hosted this year by talk show host and BBC commentator Graham Norton, Ted Lasso star Hannah Waddingham, Britain’s Got Talent judge Alesha Dixon and Ukrainian singer Julia Sanina. Mae Muller is this year’s entry for the UK with her track “I Wrote a Song.”