London Eurovision Party kicked off the celebrations for Eurovision 2023 with Mae Muller ahead of Liverpool

The 2023 Eurovision Song Contest is just weeks away, and the celebrations have already started. The London Eurovision Party landed in the UK’s capital over the weekend bringing with it loud costumes, louder characters and some smash songs.

While the London Eurovision Party wasn’t an official event, it has been widely endorsed and was headlined by UK act Mae Muller. Muller was joined by some of the contest’s biggest stars like Loreen who won the contest in 2012, and is back to represent Sweden again with a new song Tattoo.

Loreen told Sky News that she feels the pressure going into her second round of the Eurovision Song Contest. She is one of the bookies favourites to take home the big prize, following the success of her first song Euphoria which is still one of the contest’s most popular songs.

Loreen said: "I so badly want to create something that matters. It’s more pressure to create something as a performance.

"I never thought that this was going to be my path. What happened was the song came to me... I instantly felt when I got that, that I knew that there is something that’s going to happen to me with this song, and then a week or two later, they pop the question [to do Eurovision again] I’m like, ‘no, no, wait, wait, you can’t be serious’."

The UK is hoping to recreate the success of Sam Ryder on home soil in this year’s contest with Muller and her smash hit “I Wrote A Song”. Last year, Ryder achieved the UK’s best Eurovision result for 25 years when he came second in 2022.

Upon the announcement, Muller spoke about her entry into the competition saying: "To compete in such a massive music competition is simply brilliant," describing her involvement as "a dream".

Ukraine won the last contest, but with the ongoing war there the organisers deemed it unsafe to stage it on Ukrainian soil, so the BBC stepped in to host in its place after the UK’s Sam Ryder came second in last year’s event.

So, when does the week of Eurovision kick off? Yes, that’s right you have a whole week of entertainment coming your way and here’s everything you need to know.

When is the Eurovision song contest?

Here is the full list of shows:

• Semi Final 1: Evening Preview on Monday, May 8 at 8pm, Afternoon Preview on Tuesday, May 9 at 1:30pm, and Live Show on Tuesday, May 9 at 8pm.
• Semi Final 2: Evening Preview on Wednesday, May 10 at 8pm, Afternoon Preview on Thursday, May 11 at 1:30pm, and Live Show on Thursday, May 11 at 8pm.
• Grand Final: Evening Preview on Friday, May 12 at 8pm, Afternoon Preview on Saturday, May 13 at 1pm, and Live Show on Saturday, May 13