On Sunday, the "Turquoise Carpet" was rolled out in Liverpool, England as Eurovision 2023 began with 37 contenders vying for the top spot on behalf of Ukraine. The theme for the 67th edition

of the song contest is "United by Music", and it aims to celebrate the cultures of Ukraine and Liverpool, the birthplace of the Beatles, through three live shows. Eurovision's version of the red carpet, the "Turquoise Carpet", welcomed the contestants for the opening ceremony.

Ukraine, last year's winner, was unable to host the event this year due to Russia's invasion, so Liverpool stepped in to host the event. Kalush Orchestra, the Ukrainian winners of the 2022 contest with their entry "Stefania", have an automatic entry into next Saturday's grand final, along with the UK and the other "Big Five" members of the European Broadcasting Union: France, Germany, Spain, and Italy.

The other 31 contenders will compete in semi-finals on Tuesday and Thursday to determine the 20 finalists who will compete in the grand final. Monika Linkytė, representing Lithuania in the contest, said that she felt honored to participate despite the pressure she felt. She will perform her song "Stay" during Thursday's semi-final. Photo by Albin Olsson, Wikimedia commons.