Eurovision 2023: MerseyTravel issues advice as thousands set to descend on Liverpool

Tens of thousands of people are expected to travel to Liverpool and its surrounding areas this May, when the city hosts the 67^th Eurovision Song Contest on behalf of Ukraine.

The Eurovision Festival starts on May 1, with activities and events scheduled across the city, as well as a series of live shows beginning on May 8 and the Grand Final on May 13.

As well as Liverpool itself being busy during the festival and Eurovision weekend, it is expected that many people will be staying on the outskirts and surrounding areas, such as Wirral and Sefton, due to accommodation price hikes in the city. Due to this, public transport is expected to be busier than usual and MerseyTravel have issued top tips for safe and smooth travel.

May 7 and May 13 are expected to be especially busy due to the opening night at St George’s Hall and the Grand Final, so planning your journey ahead is essential!

MerseyTravel advice

If you live or are staying local…

• Cycle and walk if you can – This will ease the pressure on transport services.

If you’re using public transport…

• Plan ahead – Expect services to be busier than usual across the whole fortnight.
• Check timetables – Make sure to do this ahead of and on your day of travel in case there are any changes. MerseyTravel will also use Twitter to publish changes made at short notice.
• Leave plenty of time – Some journeys might take longer than usual or be subject to delay or changes at short notice.
• Consider your options - The transport network is expected to be busier than usual. Think about staggering your travel home times and have a plan B in case you can’t get the service you planned for.
• Buy travel tickets in advance and online if you can - this will speed up your journey and help you avoid queues on the day.
• Travel light if you can – As you would expect, services will be busy so there’s not much room for large amounts of luggage.
• Arrive early at the station/stop/terminal in good time – This is to avoid disappointment as there may be queues particularly on the nights May 7 and 13 to get home.
• Consider multi-modal tickets – Tickets that can be used over different modes of transport, such as Saveaways, will give you more options.
• Be patient – there will be lots of people travelling for the events
• Please be kind and respectful to transport staff – Remember that they are working really hard to get you to where you need to be. Let’s make this event fun and be proud of our region!

Talking about May 13, a spokesperson for MerseyTravel said: “As the grand final finishes late in the evening, please note that public transport services will be limited to get you home. More information about services and timetables will be made available in the coming weeks so keep checking with transport providers.”