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ESC Insight’s Coverage Of Liverpool And The Eurovision Song Contest 2023

Liverpool hosted a Eurovision Song Contest like no other. Stepping up to be the home of Eurovision 2023 following Ukraine’s win with ‘Stefania’ in Turin the year before, a joint production between the BBC and UA:PBC illustrated the power of the Song Contest to bring people together by uniting them in music.

ESC Insight followed the story of the Contest from the moment Kalush Orchestra captured the hearts of millions around the world, until they passed the Glass Microphone over to Loreen for her record-breaking second victory in the televote era.

Loreen and the Eurovision trophy (Photo: Corrine Cumming / EBU)

Loreen and the Eurovision trophy (Photo: Corrine Cumming / EBU)

We’ve gathered together all the links to our articles, podcasts, videos, interviews, and more, on this page. Our story of the  Eurovision Song Contest 2023 goes something like this…

You can download a PDF summary of our Eurovision 2023 coverage here.

The Guide Book

Our guide book to a Eurovision Song Contest once more proved a popular download both in PDF Format and in an Amazon Kindle suitable file format. Featuring all 37 countries performing at this year’s Contest, it provided the popular mix of information and trivia we’re proud of. It was also a handy reference for many broadcasters and journalists reporting from Liverpool.

Articles, Editorial and Insight around the 67th Contest:

Eurovision Audience Poll

The Eurovision Audience Poll is a project to gauge the opinion of the general public before each of the three live shows are broadcast to millions around the world. Members from four different Eurovision community sites, ESC Insight, ESCXTRA.com, The EuroTrip Podcast, and Bet Eurovision collaborated to survey people leaving the arena after seeing the first public rehearses of the three shows. More details can be found at eurovisionaudiencepoll.com.

Eurovision Audience Poll team at work (Photo: Ewan Spence)

Eurovision Audience Poll team at work (Photo: Ewan Spence)

Podcasts and Online Audio

ESC Insight’s core product is our audio podcast. This runs throughout the year, fortnightly over the summer months, weekly during the ‘on-season’ period of September-April, and daily when we reach the host city.

For most of the year, it runs as a magazine-styled show, with news headlines, short discussions, and musical performances. During the time in Liverpool, it switched to the discussion panel format, hosted by ESC Insight’s Fin Ross Russell and featuring contributors from ESC Insight and other noted Eurovision voices.

The shows are available to stream direct from ESC Insight or via RSS. You can find the show in the major Podcast services such as Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Spotify.  We are featured in the key podcast applications… Castbox, iHeart Radio, Overcast, Player FM, PodChaser, and PodHero. You’ll find even more links over at PodNews’ podcast library.

FM/AM/DAB Radio Coverage

ESC Insight works year-round with two key radio partners. Radio Six International provides worldwide distribution for our radio packages through online, FM, AM, and Shortwave frequencies. In the UK we work with The Podcast Radio which broadcasts our shows across the country on DAB and online.

ESC Insight makes available a number of worldwide radio syndication packages designed to give the smaller community and local radio stations around the world Eurovision content in the run-up to the live shows. These radio-edited packages are not available online. The 2023 season saw our radio packages broadcast on stations based in the United Kingdom, Ireland, the United States, New Zealand, Taiwan, and Singapore.

This year ESC Insight offered:

  • A radio-specific preview package that profiled every song entering this year’s Contest.
  • A ‘radio-edit’ version of ‘Juke Box Jury.
  • A daily discussion show from backstage in the Press Room in the weeks ahead of the Contest.
  • Interview packages collated from interviews conducted throughout the year.

Europe’s Heartbeat

We also produce an ‘out of season’ music show. Europe’s Heartbeat (europesheartbeat.com) is a syndicated radio programme broadcasting new music, lost classics, and forgotten hits from across the European continent, including a significant number of Eurovision songs and artists. The show can be heard on stations in the United Kingdom, Ireland, the United States, New Zealand, Taiwan, and Singapore.

Juke Box Jury

In the seven weeks running up to the Semi Finals and Grand Final, we previewed each country’s song in our Juke Box Jury format, with a discussion between two judges and host Ewan Spence before rating each song as hit, miss, or maybe.

Chat Over Coffee Podcasts

Our podcast interview series, Chat Over Coffee, allows us the chance to sit down and explore the Eurovision Song Contest with a single guest for an extended-length show.

Liverpool Arena, home of Eurovision 2023 (photo: Ewan Spence)

Liverpool Arena, home of Eurovision 2023 (photo: Ewan Spence)

The Daily Podcast Chat Shows

The successful and anticipated daily chat shows were the backbone of the coverage from Liverpool as the weekly ESC Insight podcast switched to a daily schedule. This allowed us to provide more of our trademark in-depth coverage and analysis from backstage, bringing all the news and opinions of the 2023 Contest as it happened, though a rotating line up of guests from many Eurovision websites.

Liverpool Events Calendar

Following a successful launch in Turin, our curated Events Calendar returned for those visiting Liverpool looking for official and unofficial events during the host city’s Eurovision celebrations. The archive can be found here.

Patreon

Launched in 2018, ESC Insight’s community continues to contribute towards the site through small monthly donations.

Organised through the popular membership platform Patreon, donations start from as little as $1 a week. Patreon supporters have access to additional editorial posts, informal podcasts talking about breaking news, and standalone podcast series. Notable content includes early access to our ‘Chat Over Coffee’ interview podcasts, a weekly review of Melodifestivalen, and alternative edits and National Final songs from our ‘Juke Box Jury. podcasts.

More details can be found at patreon.com/escinsight.

Social Media

ESC Insight maintains a presence on Twitter, Facebook, Mastodon, Tumblr, and YouTube.

Thank You To Our Supporters

ESC Insight is a year-round operation, and we would like to take this opportunity to thank our supporters from the 2022/2023 season.

  • Radio Six is a private non-profit radio station operating from Scotland and playing an interesting mixture of songs from the world’s unsigned and indie artists in their native languages. Radio Six supported ESC Insight with radio broadcast and production facilities throughout the year, with a particular focus on broadcasting from JESC and ESC. Find out more at www.radiosix.com
  • The Podcast Radio showcases fantastic podcasts to the world. From the weirdest to the most wonderful, the biggest and the best, to the unheard gems awaiting your discovery. Broadcasting on DAB radio across the UK and streaming directly from its own website, The Podcast Radio combines live presenters, and hourly news updates, and acts as a constant source of podcast inspiration 24 hours a day. Find out more at www.thepodcastradio.co.uk.
  • Visit Benidorm is the commercial name of the Benidorm Tourism Foundation, a public-private partnership that promotes Benidorm around the tourism industry. Visit Benidorm supported ESC Insight’s coverage of Benidorm Fest 2023 with accommodation, travel costs, and a program of events for the invited press delegation. Find out more at www.visitbenidorm.es.

Thank You To Our Readers And Listeners

ESC Insight aims to deliver a unique and thoughtful experience for our readers, and we continue to strive to deliver a unique experience that provides in-depth editorial, discussion, and commentary around the Eurovision Song Contest for our existing readers, and those who have yet to discover us.

Onwards To 2024!

That wraps up the Eurovision Song Contest 2023, and we’re starting to plan our coverage for the 2023/24 season.  If you’ve any comments on our coverage, let us know in the comments or get in touch.

You can download a PDF of our Eurovision 2023 Coverage summary here.

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