Eurovision

Eurovision is hosted in Liverpool, much to my excitement. I took so many pictures that I had to collage many of them. There were celebrations for over a week in Liverpool and we’ve been a few times to see the different artwork pieces or celebrations of Ukraine. There are so many blue&yellow flags in shops and on the streets that it seems we are in Ukraine, in a way. I love seeing all this love for Ukraine.

This is where Eurovision is being held, at Echo Arena. I saw the Semi-Final 1 and Semi-Final 2. I will vote for Ukraine and Croatia. I can’t vote for UK, as I’m in UK. I love Ukraine’s song, Heart of Steel, about premature babies born due to the airstrikes. It’s so sad, but it shows hope too.
As for Croatia, I just love their song, Mama ŠČ!. The words are just fantastic, it makes fun of “Armageddon-granny” who is “Evil little psychopath”. It’s about Putin, who received a tractor as a gift from Lukashenko for his birthday, which was pretty funny considering that many russian tanks were towed away by Ukrainian farmers. I love everything about the song! Do consider voting for them if you are watching. If not, just make sure you watch their song (in the link above).

Besides the show, Liverpool created the Eurovision village. This is the entrance, from yesterday. Today the village is ticketed and it sold out soon after the tickets were available to buy. I wanted to visit the village again yesterday, but it was too crowded, so instead we went for drinks to a nearby bar on a terrace.

Eurovision village has food stalls, including a fully vegan one. There is also the Discover Ukraine part of the village. There are different stalls with clothing, food (not vegan), jewellery, books. I bought a lovely T-shirt.

This is the stage at the Eurovision village. Each day from 5 May there were concerts, all free. On the first day, when I took this picture, was quiet-ish.

The concert was started by the Kalush Orchestra. I was so happy to hear them. They had a concert in London, but I was in Liverpool at that point, so I missed it.

Kalush was a hit with the fans. They sang their songs, and Stephania twice! I loved Stephania, the blend of modern and traditional, the words. It’s beautiful.

Liverpool was sporting the Ukrainian colours, as I mentioned, everywhere. From seats in the centre in blue&yellow, to events at different times and locations in the city. Just look at the plant pots and the flags in the sky-scrapper. That is an office building. There were many more flags in shops and pubs. The Irish pubs had the Irish and Ukrainian flags, while others had the British and Ukrainian flags.

Protect the Beats was the most memorable display for me. When the full-scale invasion started, people filled bags with sand and protected the statues, their heritage and culture.

This shopping bag is close to Echo Arena and the Eurovision village, but close to the L1 shopping centre too.

Superlambanana in Ukrainian colours, a symbol of Liverpool. These are usually coloured in different patterns or colours for different events.

Soloveiko Songbird Trail was lovely to see, both at nighttime and during the day. Each bird is decorated with a pattern from a different region of Ukraine. It was a fantastic idea, so interesting to see. The birds are nightingales, which is the national bird of Ukraine.

The eggs were made by British schools, but they are a nod of Ukrainian patterns and egg decorations for Easter. I think it was a lovely idea and it surely must have been amazing for these schools too.

Heart in the shopping areas of Liverpool.

Liverpool Cathedral hosted Izyum to Liverpool. This was a video installation from Ukrainian artist Katya Buchatska, showing the train journey from Izyum (eastern Ukraine).

Open Eye Gallery showcased HOME, alongside 25 independent venues which each hosted a Ukrainian photograph. It was very interesting to see and well worth a visit.

Are you going to watch Eurovision tonight?