The UK’s Mae Muller has closed this year’s Eurovision song contest.
- READ MORE: UK Eurovision entry Mae Muller: “I wanted to write something that made people feel empowered”
This year’s instalment of the contest is taking place in Liverpool. While Ukraine won last year and would normally host under the rules of the competition, the ongoing political conflict meant it was held in the UK, who were runners up last year with Sam Ryder.
However, the opening segment of the finale was dedicated to Ukraine, with their 2022 entry Kalush Orchestra opening the contest with an emotive rendition of their winning song, ‘Stefania’.
The opening also saw the band joined by musicians and famous figures from afar. During one segment of the song, it cut to a clip of Ryder playing guitar on the song from on top of Liverpool’s Liver Building.
Other contributions via video included ones from Joss Stone, Miss Banks, Andrew Lloyd Webber and the Princess of Wales, who played piano on the song.
Following this, the finalists of this year’s competition took to the stage; the UK’s Muller performed ‘I Wrote A Song’ as the last performance of the evening in the competition’s grand finale.
You can see footage and fan reaction to the moment below:
WE ABSOLUTELY LOVED HER IN HERE.
TEN OUT OF TEN. NO NOTES. @maemuller_ #UnitedKingdom #Eurovision pic.twitter.com/liAhjdcQae
— Christopher Golds (@chrisgolds) May 13, 2023
Tbf you can barely hear anything over the arena screaming! @maemuller_ totally smashed it 💪 pic.twitter.com/VvUmPOirbC
— David Purdue☀️🌺🌳 (@DavidPurduedue) May 12, 2023
That was brilliant Mae Muller ✨ from the Media Centre #eurovision2023 grand final #eurovision pic.twitter.com/941dvlseLV
— OGAE GREECE (@OgaeGreece) May 13, 2023
mae muller SMASHED that wtaf 😭 #Eurovision
— Shan Bantana like hannah montana ⚡️ (@shazbow16x) May 13, 2023
Wow wow wow @maemuller_ you were frickin incredible!!! The auditorium is still cheering you on!!!! #Eurovision2023
— Mark Russell 🇺🇦 (he/him) (@markrusselluk) May 13, 2023
The club goes wild for Mae Muller! 🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/Rni0MFCGQ3
— Jamie Moreland (@JamieMoreland) May 13, 2023
Sweden is currently favourite to win the competition with Loreen’s song ‘Tattoo’, which has odds listed as 4/9 on bet365. If she were to win, she would become the first ever woman to win Eurovision twice, following her victory in 2012 with the track ‘Euphoria’. Hot on her heels and listed as the second most likely to take the crown for the 2023 instalment is Finland.
Represented by Käärijä with the song ‘Cha Cha Cha’, Finland remains second place in the final odds, coming in at 5/2 according to bet365. Ukraine follows up and remains with an 8/1 chance, while France is at 14/1, Israel and Spain are on par for the fourth spot – all listed as 14/1.
Muller currently has odds of 40/1 to win.
Keep checking back on nme.com for more Eurovision updates