Eurovision 2023: why Liverpool is the perfect host city for high camp mayhem

From behind the bar of the Hobo Kiosk – arguably Liverpool’s coziest little pub – owner Delia says, ‘Oh, we’re going to do something. Maybe I’ll put together a playlist of all the songs that come last.”

You may have heard that the Eurovision Song Contest is coming to town next week and that this famous old port city is set for days of high camp mayhem. Once an eccentric one-night affair laced with hopeful gallows humor (at least from a British point of view), Eurovision has turned into a five-day celebration with a Grand Final this Saturday.

But with a world-renowned musical heritage and more pubs than you can shake a drumstick in, few cities are better equipped to host this celebration.

A few minutes’ walk from Hobo Kiosk at Albert Dock is The Beatles Story, an immersive museum charting their rise to fame, including a replica of the legendary Abbey Road Studios. Ahead is the beautiful Cunard Building, once the headquarters of the Cunard Line on the quayside and now home to the British Music Experience (BME).

Built in 1917, it is part of a triumvirate in Pier Head known collectively as the Three Graces, which includes the Port of Liverpool Building and the grandiose Royal Liver Building. The latter’s 360 Tour offers widescreen vistas of the city from its wind-blasted summit (legend has it that Liverpool will cease to exist if the Liver Birds, two of which perch atop the bell towers, ever fly away).

Inside, under an ornate sculpted ceiling, the corridors of the BME are lined with memorabilia from every era of British rock and pop, from David Bowie’s multicolored Ziggy Stardust costumes to Noel Gallagher’s iconic Union Jack guitar. “I’m thinking of places like Nashville and Austin, where music is playing in every other bar. It’s the same kind of feeling in Liverpool,” said Paul Cook of the BME.

One such bar is the legendary Cavern Club, now in a new location on Mathew Street, where the thump of drums and the cracking of chords can often be heard a few blocks away. At the bottom of the Cavern’s spiral stone steps is a narrow main stage where performers strap on an acoustic guitar and perform Beatles classics and other well-known hits to a well-greased audience.

They also take requests, and the headliner laughs as an audience member excitedly yells ‘Wonderwall’ after just minutes of his set, which he then reluctantly plays (aided by a sing-along).

On the equally exciting Slater Street, The Jacaranda doesn’t have that problem. A historic venue where an early incarnation of the Fab Four performed as The Silver Beetles and were paid for their efforts with beans on toast and Coke. ‘The Jac’ regularly showcases new bands on the low-lit stage below and has been a local institution since 1958.

EuroClub – the world’s largest Eurovision fan club – will host Liverpool’s official Eurovision party for nine nights at the vibrant Camp and Furnace venue. Above is singer Sam Ryder, who represented the UK in last year’s contest

James visits The Beatles Story, a compelling museum of the band’s rise

Beatles aficionados can join the Magical Mystery Tour, which stops at Strawberry Field, Penny Lane and the childhood homes of John Lennon, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr.

Instead, I choose to walk through the elegant Georgian Quarter, a neighborhood in the shadow of the huge Anglican cathedral.

I decide to stop for a beer in a slightly more under-the-radar Beatles haunt. Ye Cracke is a spit and sawdust pub where Lennon frequented as an art student and has a glass plaque on the wall commemorating The Dissenters, the little-known band Lennon formed in 1960 with three college friends ‘who never played a note’, as the inscription reads.

EuroClub – the world’s largest Eurovision fan club – will host Liverpool’s official Eurovision party for nine nights at the vibrant Camp and Furnace venue.

But whether you’re a fan of the annual singing competition or not, this city has an unwavering warm welcome and an inspired sense of humour. The new Nashville? Well, you decide.