Javier Herrero
Liverpool (United Kingdom) (EFE).- Few recent Eurovision venues have invested as much in celebrating this event as Liverpool, which 62 years ago hosted the debut of The Beatles, their most famous children, and thus lived a first explosion of pop music that is now back in full swing at this European festival.
“It is a pity that the war in Ukraine had to go through for it to end up here, but it is something that I have been waiting my whole life as a Eurofan,” one of his fellow citizens, Paul O’Hara, celebrates in statements for EFE while awaiting his turn in the middle of a long queue in front of the store arranged in the center to get some of the official products.
Another Liverpulian, Leah Paget, points out the keys that explain the reasons for the intense involvement of the city: “Here in particular we are very lovers of Europe, it goes without saying that we are also lovers of music and parties, so this It’s the perfect combination of all of that.”
“For two weeks we have transformed the place we love with parties, parades and unique collaborations between our city and our friends in Ukraine,” stressed the mayor, Joanne Anderson, in her welcome speech to the official two-week program of activities, before giving “Welcome to a Eurovision season like no other.”
Liverpool welcomes Eurovision fans
Indeed, the welcome signs receive the traveler from entry points such as the John Lennon Airport or the train station and are repeated insistently through squares and streets, where, as a result of the collaboration with Ukrainian artists, installations can be enjoyed outdoors. , sculptures or the gigantic mural “The sound of freedom”.
“It’s fantastic, because it’s helping to put both Liverpool and the north of the country back on the map and that it’s seen that not everything happens to the south of London,” Welsh Sarah Colclough, one of the thousands of Eurofans, told EFE. who have traveled here these days to physically attend the appointment for the first time.
To the usual Eurovision spaces such as the official “shows” that are held at the Liverpool Arena on the banks of the River Mersey or the Eurovillage for the appointment with the public without a ticket, located not far from there, a huge offer is added that includes performances by “drag queens” or symphony concerts to the rhythm of emblematic themes of the festival, in parallel with events in numerous bars and pubs to enjoy the event in company.
“It seems to me that everything is much bigger here, as if the whole of Liverpool were part of the contest. In Tel Aviv in 2019 everything was limited to a small area of the city, but wherever you go there are posters, country flags or events”, highlights the Israeli Matan Fleishman.
Other points of interest in the city
All of this is added to the most typical attractions, such as the Anfield stadium where Liverpool play or the Royal Albert Dock complex, where the music museum is installed, which praises not only the great figures of the region (Maneuvers Orchestrals in the Dark, Mel C…), but from all over the United Kingdom (Queen, Coldplay, Adele…).
And of course, lovers of beatlemania can stroll down Penny Lane street, which gave the title to one of the most famous songs by the “Fab Four” (whose sculpture is also one of the most photographed) or attend a concert at The Cavern, where they acted for the first time and of whose original structure only a part of the bricks recovered remains after its demolition in the early 70s for its subsequent reconstruction in the same space a decade later.
“There are not many reasons that attract people to come here if it is not for the Beatles or for the football club,” laments the Italian Marco Roda, a researcher at the University of Liverpool for 7 years, before highlighting the strategic importance appointments like this to discover this small city and one of its great benefits: “the friendly character” of its inhabitants.