Ricky Tomlinson

Ukraine 's reigning Eurovision champions Kalush Orchestra have got The Party started in this year's host city Liverpool with a performance to open The Fan village.

The Band kicked off The official Eurovision build-up on Friday, watched by fans on Liverpool's waterfront.

The celebrations will continue until The Grand final on Saturday , 13 May.

Kalush's Tymofii Muzychuk said The Band members were sad it was impossible to hold this year's Eurovision in Ukraine .

The winning country normally hosts The Contest The Following year, but organisers decided it was too dangerous to stage The annual extravaganza in Ukraine Following Russia's invasion.

Instead, The UK - which came second with Sam Ryder in 2022 - is hosting this year's event on behalf of Ukraine .

" It's good that it's being staged in The UK, " Muzychuk continued. " We see lots of Ukrainian colours, and The main thing is safety. "

The musician told Bbc News he wanted this year's contest to send a message to The World to not forget about Ukraine .

" The War in Ukraine is continuing, " He Said . " It's not finished yet and we want to remind people that they shouldn't lose track of it and it should be in The headlines. "

Many people in The country will be watching The Contest , he added. " They'll be supporting and rooting for Ukraine .

" Of course We Are sad that it's not being staged in Ukraine but I hope that The UK entry wins, then we can swap and hold Eurovision in Ukraine [in 2024]. "

Some fans waved Ukrainian flags as they watched The Band , while others wore pink bucket hats - Following The trend started by frontman Oleh Psiuk .

Kalush Orchestra will also perform at The Grand final, opening The Show with a performance titled Voices of a New Generation .

As well as The Final and semi-finals, Liverpool is staging many other events around The City , including daily shows at The 15,000-capacity Eurovision Village.

On Friday, a special supergroup featuring musicians from Merseyside and Ukraine performed after Kalush Orchestra under The Banner Welcome to Eurotopia.

The UK members included Orchestral Manoeuvres in The Dark singer Andy Mccluskey , singers Jane Weaver and Natalie Mccool and art-pop group Stealing Sheep , while Helleroid, Krapka; KOMA and Iryna Muha represented Ukraine .

Friday also saw a Street Parade as part of a The Blue and Yellow Submarine Parade was inspired by The colours of The Ukrainian flag along with The Song and film by Liverpool's most famous musical exports, The Beatles .

Eurovision 2023 timetable:

Eurovision Village Highlights :

Entry to The Fan village is free except for Grand final day, which is ticketed and already sold out.

Source of news: bbc.com