Eurovision 2023: Liverpool’s favourite past winner

Thirty-seven countries will compete to win the 67th Eurovision Song Contest when it comes to Liverpool in May.

31 countries will compete for 20 places in the Grand Final alongside France, Germany, Italy, Spain and 2022 winner Ukraine alongside hosts the United Kingdom.

We've been on the city streets to find your favourite acts from the song contest.

“Abba goes without saying”

Sisters Hilda and Pauline said, “Abba goes without saying.”

“I love Abba!”

Steven says, “I love Abba. I sing every song they’ve got.”

“Bucks Fizz or Abba”

Raymond says, “Bucks Fizz or Abba.”

From speaking to you, it’s clear who the favourite is for the people of Liverpool, Abba! Though, that could have something to do with the success of the Swedish band, whose global reach is still being felt to this day.

Significant changes to how voting in the 2023 contest will work

There will be significant changes to how the voting in the 2023 contest will work.

The countries that qualify from the two Semi-Finals, ten from each, will now be decided solely based on the votes cast by viewers of the competition rather than a combination of a jury and public vote as has been the case since 2009.

And, for the first time, those watching in countries not taking part in the competition will also be able to vote for their favourite songs online.

Their votes will be added together and converted to points with the same weight as one participating country in both the Semi-Finals and the Grand Final.

Professional juries, made up of those working in the music industry, will continue to contribute to the result of the Grand Final, along with viewers in each country taking part and those voting internationally.

This comes after voting irregularities were seen at the 2022 Contest. As a result, a working group of European Broadcasting Union Members was established to look at ways to protect the integrity of the event.