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Image source, Getty Images
Liverpool's St George's Hall was illuminated in the colours of the Ukrainian flag after the Russian invasion
By Ian Youngs
Entertainment & arts reporter
A submarine parade through the streets and a rave held simultaneously in Liverpool and Kyiv will feature in a cultural festival in the run-up to this year's Eurovision Song Contest.
Liverpool will host the contest in May, with the two-week festival taking place in the city ahead of the event.
The English National Opera will perform their take on classic Eurovision songs.
And in Liverpool Cathedral, Ukrainian artist Katya Buchatska will recreate a train carriage used to flee the war.
Ukraine won the Eurovision contest in 2022, but it was deemed too dangerous to stage the event in the winning country this year following the Russian invasion.
Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,The UK's Sam Ryder came second at Eurovision 2022, behind winners Ukraine
As runners up, the UK offered to take up hosting duties on behalf of Ukraine.
The cultural festival - a key part of Liverpool's successful bid to hold the song contest - has been titled EuroFest, and will run from 1-14 May.
It will kick off with The Blue and Yellow Submarine Parade, featuring imitation submarines, and inspired by the colours of the Ukrainian flag along with the song and film by Liverpool's most famous musical exports, The Beatles.
It is billed as "a huge outdoor underwater sea disco which will make its way through the city to kickstart the Eurovision party".
Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,A yellow submarine pictured on Penny Lane in Liverpool - in tribute to the hit Beatles song and film of that name
UK and Ukrainian designers, musicians and community groups will be involved in the parade, according to Liverpool City Council.
"Expect hundreds of performers, incredible music and a huge, glitterball jellyfish," organisers said.
Rave Ukraine will take place simultaneously in Liverpool and Kyiv as "a celebration of the uniting power of music and the resilience of Ukrainians throughout the last year to keep making music, dancing and celebrating culture".
The English National Opera will stage an outdoor concert "bringing together two very different musical worlds".
Image source, Reuters
Image caption,Liverpool mayor Joanne Anderson received the symbolic Eurovision key in January
Ukrainian artist Buchatska will show a film that has been shot on the train journey between Izyum in eastern Ukraine, which was left in ruins after being captured by Russia, and the border with Poland.
The artist said it was "about the fragility of our environment, our lives and of the landscape surrounding us".
She added: "It is about the loss of certainties, of home, without knowing if you will ever be able to return. It is a one-way journey. It provokes a shift in the state of mind."
Of the 24 projects in EuroFest, 19 are collaborations between UK and Ukrainian artists, the city council said.
Ukraine's ambassador to the UK, Vadym Prystaiko, said: "I am thrilled to see so many talented Ukrainian artists collaborating with their British counterparts to create unique and inspiring projects celebrating our shared love of music and culture."
Joanne Anderson, mayor of Liverpool, said: "The planned projects are joyful, hopeful, ambitious and moving - as you would expect from the unique circumstances in which we are hosting this event.
"Once again, Liverpool is using its incredible creative credentials to tell a story, and in doing so, engage a wide audience in a narrative that impacts us all.
"I am particularly proud that we are able to provide a platform for so many brilliant Ukrainian artists and musicians, and that our local cultural sector has welcomed them with such warmth and spirit."
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