Inclusive Employers Providing an inclusive experience at the Eurovision Song Contest 2023
Ariel Chapman, Senior Inclusion and Diversity Consultant and Inclusive Liverpool project lead, introduces our exciting new partnership and range of Inclusive Customer Experience support materials and webinars.
What is it about the Eurovision Song Contest that I love? I’ve been trying to find the answer to this question for many years. The last time the contest came to the UK was in Birmingham in 1998; that is the first year I remember watching it. As a small queer boy, it was everything I loved – sequins, flashing lights, catchy songs and a certain air of gravitas that comes with an international competition.
The winner that year was Dana International for Israel. An openly trans woman won the world’s biggest music competition. I vividly remember her performance and her confidence standing on the huge stage, singing about her love for divas. At that moment, this small queer boy knew he wasn’t alone. I realised that if Dana International can win Eurovision, maybe there is a space for me in this world too. Maybe that big open hug that the Eurovision Song Contest shares with the world is why I love it so much.
Just in case you weren’t aware, the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 is being hosted in Liverpool on behalf of Ukraine which was unable to host it following their win in 2022. As runners-up, the UK have the honour of hosting this wonderfully inclusive celebration of diversity in May 2023 in the city of Liverpool.
So, where does Inclusive Employers come into this?
As the UK’s first and leading membership organisation for employers looking to build inclusive workplaces, we are honoured to work with Liverpool City Council to support the Eurovision Song Contest 2023. A partnership which is the first of its kind for any host city of the Eurovision Song Contest. We are working with the volunteering team in Liverpool to ensure the contest is as inclusive and accessible as it can be for fans visiting the city.
We are also delighted to work with Liverpool City Council and Liverpool Growth Platform, National Museums Liverpool, St John’s Shopping and OGAE UK.
Together we will offer a range of free resources to any business in Liverpool throughout the event, providing leaders and customer-facing staff with the toolkit they need to ensure a warm and inclusive welcome to guests.
Inclusion at the Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest attracts thousands of visitors to the host city each year (Stockholm welcomed 1.5 million visitors in 2016). With these huge visitor numbers from a diverse mix of world cultures, it’s important that local retail, leisure, and hospitality venues know how to offer an inclusive welcome.
The contest has long held a special place in the hearts of the LGBTQ+ community and has a large LGBTQ+ fan base. Artists from the LGBTQ+ community have represented multiple countries throughout its history, often helping to push for improved LGBTQ+ rights in the process.
Watch out for our ‘Live from Liverpool’ blog series during the contest, where we will dive into LGBTQ+ history at Eurovision a bit further. Businesses welcoming LGBTQ+ fans into Liverpool may be anxious about ensuring they meet the needs of their customers. We all want to provide a warm welcome but sometimes we may worry about ‘getting things wrong’. Our inclusion toolkits, available free of charge to businesses in Liverpool, will help everyone.
Understandably, the contest is also a huge celebration of our global diversity. The contest started to test the latest technology and bring together countries from a continent still recovering from World War Two. Countries were united by music, an idea reflected in this year’s theme as Liverpool hosts on behalf of last year’s winner Ukraine.
This wonderful competition celebrates our language and cultural diversity across Europe, the Middle East and Australia. Our free inclusion toolkits and webinars will focus on intercultural communication in customer service.
Local business support for the Eurovision Song Contest
If you’re a business in Liverpool, you can access our free inclusive customer experience toolkit, which includes:
Expert inclusion packs on the topics:
- Intercultural communication in customer service
- LGBT+ inclusion in customer service
- Thinking about accessibility for an inclusive experience
- Equality law and customer service
Plus
- Access to 4 free webinars on inclusive customer service (hosted by Inclusive Employers)
- Subscription to Monthly ‘Inclusion Insights’ newsletter