The 67th Eurovision Song Contest was hosted by Liverpool this month on behalf of Ukraine.
Sweden took home its 7th title through Loreen who smashed the nation votes and came out on top after a late surge from Finland’s fan vote.
Fans on social media heaped praise on the event, saying “Liverpool has done Eurovision proud” and local residents say they “couldn’t be happier” with the way it has turned out.
Hazel Leman, 26, lives a short walk away from the arena that is hosting Eurovision this year. She said “it has been amazing seeing Liverpool transformed over these last few weeks for Eurovision. The city has become so much brighter, busier and fun!’ However, Hazel is questioning where the money has come from and why these improvements have only come now the worlds eye is on the city.
“There are planters all around the city now, celebrations of the city’s culture and the whole place has had a clean up – it looks great! Why hasn’t this been done before Eurovision was even an option? We’ve got a beautiful city here and it feels like it was being left a bit to rot to be honest. I just hope they can keep this up.”
Liverpool City Council contributed £2million to hosting the song contest in the city this month.
Stuart Andrew, Conservative MP for Pudsey and under-secretary for sport, tourism and heritage, said “This is just incredible, Liverpool has really demonstrated that it’s a great party city, it’s great at organising events and the welcome people are getting; I’ve already had so much positive feedback from people from around the world who are visiting”.
The city is already perfectly set up for hosting many Champions League nights and the city is desperate for more.