Eurovision 2023 travel - how to get to Liverpool by train, car, bus and boat

The Eurovision Song Contest 2023 is now well underway in the Liverpool City Region and is expected to attract an estimated 100,000 visitors during the course of the event. And whilst we're still a bit gutted that Manchester won't be hosting this year's contest on behalf of Ukraine, we're buzzing it's going ahead nearby.

Last night (May 9), thousands gathered at the M&S Bank Arena to watch the first live show of this year’s international contest and saw 15 countries compete for their spot in Saturday’s grand final, including Sweden, Norway, Israel and Czechia.

The UK was selected to host this year's contest on behalf of last year's winners Ukraine after Sam Ryder took second place in the 2022 competition with his song Space Man. This year, the UK's entry Mae Muller will be hoping her track, 'I Wrote A Song', will become the first win for Britain since Katrina and the Waves took the crown in 1997.

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Liverpool Arena will be the venue for the second semi-final on Thursday, May 11, as well as the grand final on Saturday, May 13. Those lucky enough to have bagged tickets will now be looking to make travel arrangements. A packed events programme means the public transport and road network will be busier than usual as people make the most of the experience.

On the day of the final, Saturday, May 13, there will be an extra city region late-night bus and rail services, a park and ride scheme, the Mersey Ferries running services across the river, and shuttle buses are running to help travel between fan zones. So, ahead of the next semi-final and the grand final we've taken a look at the best ways to get to the M&S Bank Arena, whether you're coming from Manchester