Rylan Clark and Scott Mills have addressed why Eurovision should be taken seriously as the pair front the star-studded presenting team bringing the contest home to the UK. The BBC Radio 2 presenters spoke out at the Eurovision Song Contest media launch after the station - the home of Eurovision 2023 on UK radio - announced important roles for the popular pair.
Rylan and Scott will be Radio 2's presenters for the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 grand final, which will be broadcast live on Radio 2 on Saturday May 13. The Eurovision superfans, who have both been involved in Eurovision coverage for many years, will be bringing their insightful and colourful commentary to the final from the centre of the action at Liverpool Arena.
The UK is hosting the 2023 event on behalf of the 2022 winners, Ukraine. It will be the culmination of a week in the city for Rylan and Scott, as they are also providing TV commentary for the semi-finals - both of which, for the first time in the UK’s Eurovision Song Contest history, will be broadcast live on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
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Scott said at the launch, held at The British Music Experience in Liverpool: "I think the days of being kind of snide about Eurovision and bit 'mmm' that's gone. You're allowed to gave fun and to laugh at some of it because that's what it's there for. But there are some really good songs, pretty much everyone can sing and the staging is out of this world." He added: "It's a different contest. Even from when I started working on it in 2011, it's just got bigger, better and bigger."
He said about the UK's 2022 entrant Sam Ryder, who came second to Ukraine last year: "I think that Sam Ryder and the whole team did last year was incredible. I didn't think a year ago we'd be sat here. It's crazy. I'm not even sure I ever thought it would happen as long as I was working on the contest.
"Just to come out of Liverpool Lime Street Station today and the first thing you see is St George's Hall with all the Ukrainian colours and the flags, it took my breath away.
Rylan also agrees there has been a 'real shift' in attitudes towards Eurovision. "If we go back 10 to 15 years, 20 years ago, I can understand why some people thought it might be cheesy," he said.
"But if you look at the contest over the past 10 or 15 years the contest has turned into a contest that has produced global superstars, like genuine. We saw Maneskin who won the contest and have gone on to take world domination.
He continued: "It's a contest that's really, really global and it's not a load of people dressing up and having a little laugh and flying the flag. It genuinely is an amazing music show but at the same time - it's going to sound strange - it's one week of the year and two weeks for us where this whole family come together."
Scott’s afternoon show (Tuesday to Friday, 2-4pm) on Radio 2 will be coming from Liverpool all week, with Richie Anderson hosting the show on Tuesday and Thursday as Scott prepares to host the semi-finals on TV. And for the very first time, Radio 2 will also broadcast the Eurovision semi-finals, which will be presented by Paddy O’Connell.
For the first time, this year Radio 2 will also be broadcasting the two Eurovision Semi-finals, with Paddy hosting the network’s live coverage from the Liverpool Arena. In the first semi-final on Tuesday May 9 (8-10pm), 15 countries are taking part with 10 qualifying for the Grand Final on Saturday night. And on Thursday May 10, Paddy returns with live coverage from the second of the semi-finals, with 16 countries taking part and 10 qualifying for the Grand Final on Saturday night.
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