Eurovision 2023: Sam Ryder and Kalush Orchestra to perform at final

Reigning Eurovision champions Kalush Orchestra and runner-up Sam Ryder will perform at the song contest's grand final in May, it has been announced.

The Ukrainian band will open the final in Liverpool, while Ryder will play the first interval, the BBC said.

Ryder said he "can't wait to be back amongst the beautiful chaos of it all".

The show will also see Liverpool's Sonia, who came second in 1993, join Israel's Netta and Iceland's Daoi Freyr in a celebration of the city's music.

The Spaceman singer said it was an "honour to be invited back to the Eurovision stage for a second time".

Ryder added that he was also looking forward to watching "the incredible artists perform this time around, while bringing you a special performance of our own".

The 2022 event was won by Ukraine's Kalush Orchestra, but the ongoing war in the country meant the 2023 event had to moved to the UK, who came second, thanks to Ryder's performance.

The reigning champions, who will open the show, said while they were "sad" the contest was not being held in Ukraine, they were "really grateful" to the UK for hosting the contest on the country's behalf and "looking forward to performing in Liverpool".

"The city has a world-renowned musical heritage and we're delighted to finally be able to announce what an honour it will be for us to be there," a spokesman for the band said.

"We will perform for everyone in Ukraine to remind us that better days and our country's victory [are] ahead, as well as to show the world what Ukraine is fighting for."

The grand final line-up will also see performances from several of Ukraine's previous acts, including Ukraine's 2021 entrants Go_A, the country's Eurovision 2016 winner Jamala and Tina Karol and Verka Serduchka, who took part in 2006 and 2007.

The BBC said they would perform during the Eurovision Flag Parade of all 26 grand finalists and would treat viewers and audience members to a "new twist on their Eurovision entries weaved with British classics".

The final interval of the night will see six past Eurovision acts take to the stage to put their own spin on a number of classic hits by Liverpool's most famous bands.

Local favourite Sonia will take to the stage 30 years after her performance of Better The Devil You Know saw her claim the runner-up spot and she will be joined by Netta and Freyr, along with Italy's Mahmood, Sweden's Cornelia Jakobs and the Netherlands' Duncan Laurence.

The first semi-final will be held on 8 May, followed by the second on 11 May, before the grand final takes place on 13 May.

All the build-up, insights and analysis is explored each week on a BBC podcast called Eurovisioncast.

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