Live animals and CDs: All the bizarre items banned from the Eurovision Song Contest 2023

Leave your umbrellas at home!

2 years ago

The Eurovision Song Contest is back for another year of bringing countries from around the world together through the medium of pop music. But anyone attending or performing will have to be very careful not to bring this weird list of banned items inside or on stage at the Liverpool Arena. Yup, there’s a whole glossary of possessions which absolutely aren’t allowed inside and a load of weird rules for performers. And, honestly, some of them seem unhinged.

Ok, so what items are banned for anyone attending Eurovision?

Items not allowed inside the M&S Liverpool Arena for this year’s Eurovision Song Contest include: CDs (in case you still own one), flags, signs or banners (like, what?!), stink bombs (fair), umbrellas (unfair) and selfie sticks (a Facebook mum staple).

Prohibited items at the M&S Liverpool Arena, in case it’s useful to anyone #Eurovision pic.twitter.com/lnwTqud68I

— Ben Doyle | 🇵🇸 Free Palestine 🇵🇸 (@bendoyle1983) May 8, 2023

And what’s banned for Eurovision performers?

Turns out, the list of prohibited items and behaviours gets even crazier when you consult the rule book for performers who’re singing on the night:

Firstly, you can only have six artists on stage at one time

ABBA barely made it under the margin

Secondly, you can’t have any live animals on stage

This rule came into force in 2007 and since then many, many, acts have opted for humans in costumes, instead.

Thirdly, no performance can be longer than three minutes long

Short and sweet is literally the only option.

Finally, no live instruments can be played on stage

In what seems like the weirdest rule for a music competition, no live instruments can be played on the Eurovision stage. Until 1998 there was a live orchestra but, apparently, it was scrapped the following year to save money. Though, some acts still pretend to play live instruments along to their soundtracks.