Eurovision P-A-R-T-Y | Culture Diary Special
ABBA impersonators! Post-apocalyptic fantasy! Ukrainian rap! Liverpool’s gearing up for a frenzy of the surreal this week, as the city gears up to host the Eurovision Song Contest on behalf of Ukraine. With official tickets commanding astronomical amounts, here’s our pick of the best, weirdest, and most interesting fringe parties, performances and art that won’t break the bank…
Monday 1 May, Tuesday 2 May, 7:30pm, @ the Invisible Wind Factory
Chornobyldorf – an Archaelogical opera in seven novels FREE (RRP £28)
As with many of the events this week, Ukrainian talent is to the fore. An astonishing, award-winning new opera composed by Roman Grygoriv and Illia Razumeiko, set in the ruins of a nuclear power plant, expect a searing take on war and survival.
Tuesday 2-Thursday 11 May, @ Unity Theatre
A Place Of Hope: A Two-Week Celebration Of Ukraine At Unity FREE
By Unity Theatre with Yurii Radionov and Shorena Shoniia, Commissioned by Culture Liverpool as part of EuroFestival
Thursday 4 May, 6-8m, @ Open Eye Gallery
HOME: Ukrainian Photography inspiring UK Words FREE
The UK’s largest showcase of Ukrainian photography launches at Open Eye Gallery. Featuring eleven new commissions across six exhibitions and venues, Home’s curators Viktoria Bavykina and Max Gorbatskyi, have said: “We believe that the visibility of Ukrainian culture is vital for its decolonisation, which, in turn, is a prerequisite for securing our identity and the right to own our history and future.” This is culture, as it always is, as hope.
Friday 5 May, 6pm, @ Eurovision Village (Pier Head)
Welcome to Eurotopia FREE
Liverpool artists (Stealing Sheep, Jane Weaver, Natlaie McCool) team up with Ukrainian contemporaries (Helleroid, Krapka;KOMA and Iryna Muha) to form an avant-garde super-group. With costumes. In a pop-up, free village with bars and river views. Come on.
Friday 5 May, 8pm, @ District
10 Bands 10 Minutes: ABBA – Eurovision Special £10
If Eurovision is your hell and you want your live music to come with guitars, this compromise might just be what the doctor ordered. Ridiculous fun in one of the Baltic’s best underground gig venues.
FunnyBoyz Eurovision Drag Queen Cruise £35
7.45pm, @ the Pier Head
You might not think our beloved Mersey Ferries could get any camper. Wrong! Get the comedy, singing and dancing started with FunnyBoyz performer and Swedish Ru Paul’s Drag Race contestant, the iconic Antonina Nutshell, fuelled by a fully-stocked bar and that stinging sea air. Brace yourself.
Saturday 6 May, 9pm, @ Camp & Furnace
EuroClub: Kalush Orchestra Live £22.25
Winners of Eurovision 2022, Ukrainian rap group Kalush Orchestra, actually in the city, live. Re-visit last year’s winning performance with the chaps themselves for a bit of Eurovision glamour.
Sunday 7 May, 3-11pm, @ Hangar 34
Rave UKraine £10.20
Big names here, including noughties indie disco kings Hot Chip, and Manchester/Ibiza royalty DJ Paulette, for an all-day rave happening simultaneously in Liverpool and Kyiv, raising money for non-profit Ukrainian Association of Music, Music Saves UA. Glow sticks at the ready as this will be a marathon.
Laura Robertson
