It’s not a great decade to be British. Brexit, Nadine Dorries’s career, the Oxford Street American candy stores – there are many things to feel embarrassed about here on Hate Island. And after the initial excitement of finding out the UK would be hosting Eurovision 2023, I worried the Tories might stick their gammon-y fingers in it as a propaganda opportunity.
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The Eurovillage screening area in Liverpool.
But I should have had more faith in Liverpool, the city that banned the Sun. What they created was a stunning display of what Britain can do so well – kitsch, camp, fancy dress, laughing at yourself and belting out pop bangers with strangers while you spill cider everywhere.
Whether it was in the queue for food in the EuroVillage or over hotel breakfast, Eurovision tourists (i.e. the diehards who travel all over the world for the yearly competition) told me they ranked Liverpool way up there with some of the best hosts they’d ever seen – and especially meaningful, given the city was hosting on behalf of last year’s winners, Ukraine.
Eurovision often says it’s about pan-continental unity, when in reality it’s about geo-politics and soft power. But beyond the jury vote controversy (for the record: Loreen deserved to win), it celebrates the silly, surreal and fun. Luckily VICE photographer Chris Bethell was available to capture that weird, beautiful, beating heart.
