1 March 2023

Opera, trains and submarines star in Eurovision-inspired Cultural Festival

The first details of a two-week cultural festival – EuroFest – which will take over Liverpool in the lead up to The Eurovision Song Contest have been unveiled. 

Running from Monday 1 to Sunday 14 May, the festival will present 24 brand new commissions - 19 of which are collaborations between UK and Ukrainian artists – that will transform the city as fans from across the world descend on Liverpool. 

Although full details of all of the commissions will not be announced until late March, organisers have revealed headline plans for four of the projects, along with the names of all of the organisations taking part. 

The majority of the work being produced has been inspired by the Eurovision 2023 slogan ‘United by Music’, none more so than The Blue and Yellow Submarine Parade by The Kazimier – a huge outdoor underwater sea disco which will make its way through the city to kickstart the Eurovision Party. Working with UK and Ukrainian designers, musicians and community groups, expect hundreds of performers, incredible music and a huge glitterball jellyfish. This is a mass participation event and more details on how to get involved will be announced in the coming weeks. 

The English National Opera does Eurovision is being created by the English National Opera and will be a unique show bringing together two very different musical worlds into one epic outdoor performance with live chorus and orchestra. Joyful, moving and loud, this project promises to perfectly capture the spirit of Eurovision. 

On a more poignant note, Izyum to Liverpool by Ukrainian artist Katya Buchatska, will transform the iconic Liverpool Cathedral into a train carriage replicating the journey from Izyum to the border with Poland. Filmed in real time, this piece offers an extraordinary window into the landscape of Ukraine as it is today and also serves as a reminder of the spirit and resilience of the Ukrainian people. 

Finally, Rave Ukraine is a collaboration between producer Jez Collins, UAME I Music Saves UA and Open Culture to deliver a simultaneous rave in Liverpool and Kyiv which will be streamed across the world. This commission is 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 list of collaborators taking part in EuroFest which can be revealed are:

•    Amigo & Amigo, Svitlana Reinish, Anton Dehtiarov, M3 Industries, Black_Box
•    Artists on the Frontline and Parade-Fest 
•    BBC Storyville Live
•    Black Gold Arts, First Take, Homotopia, Hackney Showroom and RubyLemon 
•    Bluecoat and The Jam Factory, Lviv
•    English National Opera 
•    Go Fly Your Kite and the Junior Academy of Science Kyiv 
•    Invisible Wind Factory 
•    Jamala
•    Jez Collins, UAME I Music Saves UA and Open Culture
•    Liverpool Cathedral and Katya Buchatska
•    Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse and Sheep Soup
•    Port and Katya Taylor 
•    Natalie McCool, Stealing Sheep, Krapka;KOMA and Helleroid 
•    National Museums Liverpool 
•    Northern Town and Jeanefer Jean-Charles & Associates
•    Open Eye Gallery
•    The Reading Agency and BBC Arts
•    Slukh.Media, Sonia Chapman and Perfectionist.London
•    Tate Liverpool 
•    Unity Theatre and Yurii Radionov
•    Whispered Tales and Denys Kashchei

The chosen commissions were selected through a process which included the BBC, British Council, Ukrainian Institute and Culture Liverpool. An initial call out in December attracted almost 700 responses of which 50 were shortlisted and supported in the development of their idea. The names announced today are the artists who have been selected for EuroFest from that shortlist. 

EuroFest has been made possible thanks to support from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

More details around the schools and community programme, plans for the EuroVillage and other Eurovision specific events will be made public in the coming weeks.