The National Lottery’s Big Eurovision Welcome tickets go on sale this week and the host has been announced

The National Lottery today announced that tickets to ‘The National Lottery’s Big Eurovision Welcome’ will be released on Wednesday 5 April at 10am.

Hosted by AJ Odudu, this 90 minute outdoor show will be one of the events to kick-off the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest in spectacular style, transforming Liverpool’s much loved St George’s Hall and the surrounding area into a massive party for the people.

Taking place on the evening of Sunday 7 May, this crucial part of Liverpool’s ambitious Eurovision host city plans will see thousands of tickets made available to the public for free*, thanks to The National Lottery.

While much of the content of the show remains a closely guarded secret, it promises to celebrate the unique partnership between Liverpool, Ukraine and Eurovision that will define this year’s contest. 

Audience members will be treated to a high energy show, the scale of which is even bigger than the European Capital of Culture Opening Ceremony in 2008. There will be a variety of musical performances, dancers, aerial performers and never seen before, state of the art digital mapping onto the 14,000 sq foot frontage of St. George’s Hall as well as many other surprises on the night.

Welcoming the largest crowd for any single Eurovision 2023 event in the UK, the show will feature musical performances from iconic Liverpudlians and Eurovision superstars as well as appearances from well-known faces from the world of music, sport and entertainment along with amazing local cultural and arts organisations. 

Tickets will be available for free* for anyone who is a National Lottery player here from Wednesday 5 April from 10am on a first come, first served basis, as a thank you for the £330M they have contributed to over 3,600 music and cultural projects in Liverpool alone. Those booking tickets will be required to confirm they have a National Lottery ticket that they can present on the day of the event.

Liverpool City Region is renowned for its famously warm welcome. So to ensure Eurovision delegates and invited guests from both Ukraine and Liverpool community groups feel the full warmth, a proportion of tickets will be made available to National Lottery players with a Liverpool City Region postcode** in an exclusive pre-sale on Tuesday 4 April from 10am.

Claire McColgan, Director of Culture Liverpool said:

“This is set to be an incredible show and we’re delighted that Liverpool City Region residents are being given an opportunity to bag themselves a ticket for this unique event. It is promising all of the energy and magic of Eurovision, combined with Liverpool’s unparalleled musical heritage, blending the best that the UNESCO World City of Music has to offer with inspiration from Ukraine – it really will be an unmissable moment in our Eurovision journey.”

AJ Odudu, host for the event said:

“I’m so excited to be hosting The National Lottery’s Big Eurovision Welcome. It is going to be an incredible show with some amazing performances and all of the wonder that Eurovision has to offer. I can’t wait to get the Eurovision party started in one of my favourite cities – come along and celebrate with us!”

Look out for further details about the event including performances which will be announced over the coming weeks.

For more information, or to book tickets for The National Lottery’s Big Eurovision Welcome, click here.

*£2 service fee per ticket

**Liverpool City Region postcodes are defined as:

All postcodes beginning with “L”

The following Halton “WA” postcodes: WA4; WA7; WA8

The following St Helens “WA” postcodes: WA9; WA10; WA11

The Wirral postcodes CH41 to CH49 and CH60 to CH63 inclusive