Eurovision Song Contest 2023 - Prepare Early
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Eurovision Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) has taken place every single year since 1956. Year by year, ESC has become a more popular event so attendees need to prepare well ahead of time. To successfully attend the contest, visitors need to start planning as soon as the previous winner has been pronounced.
Eurovision Song Contest 2023
The most important facts about Eurovision Song Contest 2023 are now public. Now, it is time to implement the plans before prices get up. This means, buying flight tickets to the UK and booking hotels is something you should start doing.
Dates
Eurovision Song Contest 2023 will be held on the second week of May from the 8th to the 14th.
The first semi-final will be on Tuesday, the second on Thursday and the Grand Final on Saturday. Reherseal shows will be one day earlier and there are also family shows on afternoons.
City and Venue
Ukraine won the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 with the song called Stefania. Ukraine announced immediately that they will host ESC 2023 in their country. However, after the EBU's evaluation, the outcome was that the country is not safe enough.
As a second option, EBU started a discussion with BBC to host Eurovision 2023. There were seven potential locations but it is now confirmed the ESC 2023 will be held in Liverpool, UK. The show will be organised together with the UK and Ukraine.
The chosen city must meet a few important criteria. It must have a big international airport nearby and a suitable venue for the event. In smaller countries, there are only a few alternatives or even maybe only one but the UK makes an exception.
The contest will take place at Liverpool Arena next to the River Mersey. The arena has a capacity of more than 10,000 people and it is in an excellent location in the city. Liverpool won the final competition against Glasgow.
Hotel prices during the ESC can be even 200 per cent more expensive than normal. To save money, it is advisable to book rooms as soon as possible. Booking.com is a reliable hotel booking site with large selection.
Preparation Tips
Proven Early Booking Strategy
We have used an early booking strategy many years in a row with good results. After the winner has been declared, we have booked hotels quickly in anticipation of the Eurovision Song Contest of the succeeding year. Usually, we have made 5 to 10 refundable hotel bookings and cancelled them after a few months except for our final choice for accommodation. We have got our hotel rooms 50% to 70% cheaper compared to people who have booked them later. This year, there was more uncertainty than normal but we still followed our traditional strategy. Unfortunately, the strategy did not work since the ESC won't be held in Ukraine.
Booking a Hotel
Accommondation is the first thing you need to secure after you know or guess the venue. Hotels will be sold out fast or their prices will get high. Booking early is the only way to get affordable stays in good-quality hotels or hostels.
We recommend using booking.com to find hotels, hostels or home accommodation.
Finding Flights
After the venue and dates have been confirmed, it's time to search for flights. It is not always the cheapest option to fly to the nearest big airport but a smaller airport further served by low-cost airlines combined with ground transportation maybe become a lot cheaper. The travel time will be more but this way you can save a lot.
Liverpool has its airport served by low-cost airlines. For example, Ryanair, easyJet and Wizz Air fly there.
There are multiple other big international airports in the UK. Flying to London may be the cheapest option but London is quite far from Liverpool. Manchester is close to Liverpool. Comparing the option is the key to saving money. It is quite sure that as time goes on, the prices will go up.
We recommend reading our tips for finding cheap flights. Skyscanner is our favourite flight comparison tool.
Tickets to Eurovision Song Contest
First Semi-Final will be on Tuesday, Second Semi-Final on Thursday and Grand Final on Saturday. All the shows have a jury show the previous night and also a family show in the afternoon. So there are together 9 shows!
Getting tickets to Eurovision Song Contest 2023 is still difficult. The grand final tickets will be sold out fast so you need to think in advance if you are happy with tickets only to semi-finals or jury and family shows. Reherseal tickets are not only cheaper but also their demand is lower.
It is advisable to follow the official Eurovision Song Contest communication channels to know when the ticket sale opens. Typically, the ticket sale opens between November and December but the sale is made in multiple batches.
Every batch will be sold out fast so you need to be ready to access the sales platform immediately when it opens. In the earlier years, the platforms had a queuing system and customers were assigned a random queuing number. The lucky ones got a small number in the queue and they were able to purchase tickets before the tickets were sold out. To increase your chances to get a good enough queuing number, we recommend using many devices and browsers in incognito mode. Friends may help you.
Eurovision Fan Clubs
Every year, European Broadcasting Union (EBU) allocates a certain number of Eurovision Song Contest tickets to national fan clubs. If you are a member of a club, your chances to get a ticket are remarkably higher. Usually, a ticket packet gives you access to all the shows but resale is forbidden. Follow the communication channels of your local fan club.
Tickets Sold Out
It is more than probable that you do not get a ticket to your favourite show. Especially, if your target is to get a ticket to the grand final, be warned that there is usually more demand than tickets available. We recommend considering also jury and family shows. Attending the ESC does not mean just visiting a few hours of the event itself but the host city will be full of other free and paid events too. Don't be too disappointed if you can't get tickets to the show.
Bottom Line
Shortly said, our important preparation strategy when attending Eurovision Song Contest 2023 is to be one step ahead of others. Do your bookings before the prices get up. You should remember every time, the higher the demand, the greater the prices will be. Book things also in the right order: first accommodation and then other tickets. Following these steps, it will lead to good preparation for ESC 2023. You will also save a huge portion of your travel budget while attending this world's most popular song contest event.
Are you attending Eurovision Song Contest 2023? Comment below!
