Eurovision 2023 results – live: Sweden’s win sparks conspiracy theories as fans question ‘convenient’ timing

British pop singer takes it on the chin after a dramatic showdown between Finland and Sweden left her UK entry ‘I Wrote a Song’ near the bottom of the leaderboard

Emotional moment Sweden’s Loreen wins Eurovision 2023

Sweden have won the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 with Loreen’s song “Tattoo”.

The dust is beginning to settle after an extraordinary grand final, which took place in Liverpool on Saturday night (13 May) and was watched by a record-breaking number of viewers.

The final results arrived in a tense showdown with Finland as the public vote temporarily sent Käärijä and his song “Cha Cha Cha” to the top of the leaderboard.

Meanwhile, it was a devastating result for the UK’s entry Mae Muller, whose performance of “I Wrote a Song” failed to sway the jury or the public and ending up coming second-to-last. Yet the 25-year-old once again displayed a positive attitude, sending a message to her supporters soon after the final scores were in.

This year’s competition marked the first time the UK has hosted a Eurovision final in 25 years. It was decided that Liverpool would host after 2022’s winning country Ukraine said it would be unable to do so due to the ongoing invasion by Russia.

Twenty finalists including Norway and Australia competed against Eurovision’s Big Five (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) and Ukraine, who automatically qualified to the grand final.

Key points

• Sweden wins the Eurovision Song Contest 2023
• Mae Muller reacts to devastating UK result
• Ukraine Eurovision act’s hometown ‘under fire from Russian missiles during contest’
• Kate Middleton makes surprise appearance with Ukraine’s Kalush Orchestra
• Eurovision fans question the ‘convenient’ timing of Sweden’s win
• Fans criticise BBC for ‘inaudible vocals’ during Mae Muller’s performance

[14 May 2023 17:15 · Annabel Nugent]

Eurovision... and Doctor Who!

As if Eurovision didn’t provide enough excitement, the BBC chose to release a new trailer for the forthcoming Doctor Who anniversary specials.

Alongside the trailers, we’ve also learnt the titles of the three new episodes.

Check out that and more below...

[14 May 2023 17:45 · Annabel Nugent]

Translated lyrics for Marco Mengoni’s entry Due Vite

Among this year’s Eurovision hopefuls was Italy’s Marco Mengoni.

Mengoni was a familiar face to many, having competed in the 2013 song contest in Malmö, Sweden, where he finished in seventh place.

This time, he won fans over with his classic ballad “Due Vite”. Check out the lyrics to the song – and its English language translation here.

[14 May 2023 18:15 · Annabel Nugent]

Who is Loreen?

Ahead of last night’s competition, we had the chance to speak with the Swedish pop star who went on to become Eurovision’s 2023 champion.

Check out what the returning champion had to say here...

[14 May 2023 18:45 · Annabel Nugent]

Sweden and Ireland are the most successful countries in Eurovision history

Following Sweden’s triumph last night, the Scandinavian country is now tied with Ireland for the most wins in Eurovision history.

Sweden has won the contest seven times: 1974, 1984, 1991, 1999, 2012, 2015 and 2023.

(In a rare unsuccessful year, they scored nul points in 1963.)

Meanwhile, Ireland has also won Eurovision seven times: 1970, 1980, 1987, 1992, 1993, 1994, and 1996.

[14 May 2023 19:15 · Annabel Nugent]

Holly Willoughby commends Kate Middleton on her Eurovision cameo

Amid rumours of a rift between Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield, the TV presenter has taken the time to applaud the Princess of Wales on her brief surprise Eurovision appearance.

“This is incredible,” said Willoughby.

[14 May 2023 20:15 · Ellie Harrison]

Fans criticise BBC for ‘ruining’ Mae Muller’s Eurovision performance

The BBC has received criticism over last night’s Eurovision broadcast, with many viewers complaining that UK entry Mae Muller’s performance was ruined by the audio.

Fans claimed they could “barely hear” the North London singer over the backing track, seemingly blaming the network for her poor results.

The UK finished in second-to-last position with a total of 24 points. Germany came last with a tally of18 points.

The Independent has contacted a representative of BBC for comment.

[14 May 2023 21:58 · Ellie Harrison]

Queen Hannah Waddingham

From her fluent French to her fab singing voice, the Ted Lasso actor was a superstar host...

[15 May 2023 05:45 · Peony Hirwani]

Mae Muller speaks out after disappointing Eurovision result

ICYMI: Mae Muller has shared her reaction to the disappointing Eurovision results.

The singer-songwriter represented the UK during the competition’s grand final event held in Liverpool on Saturday night (13 May).

Muller, 25, was one of 26 musical acts to perform on the night in the hopes of landing Eurovision glory, an honour that ultimately went to bookies’ favourite Loreen who clinched a win for Sweden for the second time. She previously won in 2012 with her hit song “Euphoria”.

Finland and Israel came in second and third place with 526 points and 362 points respectively, with Muller trailing behind with a total of 24 points, landing her in second-to-last place.

The singer has since shared a positive statement on Twitter responding to the disappointing results.

[15 May 2023 06:15 · Peony Hirwani]

Liverpool’s grand final broke Eurovision viewing records

Liverpool’s Eurovision Song Contest was the most watched grand final in history.

The city hosted the competition’s final event at its M&S Bank Arena on Saturday night (13 May).

It was a lively affair, with plenty of memorable moments including a history-making victory from Sweden’s Loreen who became the second ever artist to win Eurovision twice, and a royal cameo from Kate Middleton.

The live broadcast on BBC One saw an average of 9.9 million viewers, the BBC has said.

[15 May 2023 06:45 · Peony Hirwani]

Video of Käärijä landing in Finland after Eurovision goes viral