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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Mia O'Hare

Rita Ora joins Eurovision performers line-up as semi-final acts announced

Rita Ora has joined the Eurovision performers line-up as she is set to take on the Liverpool stage in May.

The singer, 32, will perform during the interval of the Eurovision Song Contest semi-final, along with other acts.

She makes up part of the line up with Liverpudlian soul singer and X Factor star Rebecca Ferguson and former Ukraine representatives at the international music competition such as Alyosha and Mariya Yaremchuk.

The UK was chosen to host the singing competition on behalf of 2022 winners Ukraine.

Zlata Dziunka, who came ninth when she competed in Junior Eurovision last year on behalf of Ukraine, and Ukrainian rapper Otoy, will also be performing at the live show.

Rita will perform during an interval at the semi-final show (Getty Images for The American He)

Kate Phillips, BBC ’s director of unscripted, said: “There won’t be a moment to miss during these very entertaining and very tense semi-finals.

“Good luck to all the countries involved as they compete for a place in what’s going to be an unforgettable grand final.”

BBC Eurovision host Julia Sanina will open the first semi-final by performing part of the song Mayak with her band The Hardkiss.

Ora, known for her number one hits I Will Never Let You Down, How We Do and Hot Right Now, will perform a medley of her songs and her brand-new single Praising You.

Alyosha, who came 10th in Eurovision 2010 with the song Sweet People, will perform alongside former The X Factor contestant Ferguson.

Exploring the Ukrainian singer’s personal journey fleeing the war-torn country is a new arrangement of Duran Duran’s Ordinary World.

The second semi-final will see two live interval performances, according to the BBC.

Scouser Rebecca Ferguson will also take to the stage (Redferns)

Yaremchuk, who came sixth at Eurovision 2014 with the track Tick‐Tock, will lead a contemporary montage of some of the most well-known pieces of music from her country, before Otoy and Dziunka perform alongside her.

Three drag performers will also do a routine with pop performances along with a troupe of eclectic dancers.

The live performances at the grand final, on May 13, will be announced in due course.

A Eurovision Village is set to take over Liverpool’s Pier Head, which will host multiple events throughout the competition.

EuroEve will be held the night before the contest with performances from Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Charlotte Church’s Late Night Pop Dungeon.

The Grand Final Party on the Pier Head, the only ticketed event for the Eurovision Village, will see Katrina, of Eurovision-winning Katrina and the Waves, and acts including pop group the Vengaboys take to the stage.

Organisers say it will be the “biggest and best Eurovision viewing party on the planet”.

The first wave of tickets for the Grand Final Party on the Pier Head will go on sale on Friday. The semi-finals are broadcast on the BBC on May 9 and May 11.

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