The 2023 Eurovision Song Contest was won by the Swedish team with the song “Tattoo”. The Finnish team came in a close second with their song “Cha Cha Cha”.
Image Source: Rolling Stone
Introduction
The Eurovision Song Contest, popularly known as Eurovision, is a song competition organised by the European Broadcasting Union. Eurovision is the longest-running international song competition in the world, with its first edition taking place in 1956.
Since then, it has been held every year except in 2020 because of COVID-19. Any member of the European Broadcasting Union can take part in the contest, and 52 countries in total have taken part in it.
Each country sends a team of up to six singers for a 3-minute performance. The countries also rate each other’s performances and award points based on public voting and the opinions of musical professionals. The winner of the contest has the opportunity to host the Eurovision contest next year.
The Eurovision contest enjoys large-scale popularity and viewership in Europe, and many non-European countries like Australia and Israel have also taken part. Many famous bands and singers have also taken part in the Eurovision Song Contest, like ABBA.
However, there have been many controversies, especially over political issues. Armenian and Azerbaijani delegates have also had fights on stage. Similarly, Russian and Ukrainian song entries in the contest have garnered controversy.
Many people have also accused Eurovision of biassed judging and scoring.
Eurovision 2023
Eurovision 2023 was set to be hosted by previous year’s winners, Ukraine, but because of the Russia-Ukraine War, Ukraine was unable to host the event. Instead, the United Kingdom hosted, with the contest being held in Liverpool.
A total of 37 countries took part in the contest, and two semi-final rounds were held on May 9 and 11. 15 countries participated in the first semifinal, while 16 countries took part in the second semifinal. Out of these, 25 countries made it to the final.
The final was held on May 13 and was won by the Swedish team with their song “Tattoo”. Sweden won 340 points from the judges and 243 points from the voters at home.
Finland came in second place with their song “Cha Cha Cha”. This song proved to be extremely popular with viewers, as it won 376 points from voters and 150 points from the judges.
The content garnered millions in viewership, with over 3 million people watching in the UK alone. Additionally, the Eurovision Song Contest: Liverpool 2023 music album was also released, with 37 entries in April 2023.
Running Order in the Grand Final, Image Source: Eurovision World
Conclusion
The Eurovision Song Contest, in spite of recent difficulties such as COVID-19 and the Russia-Ukraine War, conducted another successful event that was watched by millions.