Month: March 2024

One of the first steps in bringing each Eurovision Song Contest to life is the reveal of its visual identity and slogan. The BBC can today announce the 2023 Contest is set to be truly ‘United by Music’.

The new slogan demonstrates the unique partnership between the UK, Ukraine and host city Liverpool to bring the 2023 Contest to audiences across the globe and the incredible power of music to bring communities together. It also reflects the very origins of the contest, developed to bring Europe closer together through a shared TV experience across different countries.

With over 160 million viewers watching last year, the look of the vibrant, wider identity celebrates this shared cultural experience as ‘millions of hearts beat as one’. Inspired by the Ukrainian and UK flags, the colours used are designed to reflect the joy and diversity of the contest.

The typeface used is called ‘Penny Lane’, inspired by the twentieth-century cast-iron signs displaying Liverpool street names and a nod to the city’s rich musical heritage.

Designed through a creative partnership between Superunion agency in the UK and Ukrainian creative studio Starlight Creative, the new brand will first be seen by viewers during the Handover and Allocation Draw programme on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer on 31 January from 7pm. This partnership demonstrates how the show will be made by collaborations on and off camera.

In Liverpool, the iconic St George’s Hall and the Liverpool sign at Liverpool ONE will be dressed in the brand this week before it’s rolled out wider across the city in April.

Martin Green CBE, Managing Director, Eurovision Song Contest 2023, BBC says: “The 2023 Eurovision Song Contest will be a truly special event and the creative look is a big part of creating that magic. This year’s identity sums up perfectly the amazing partnerships across the Contest and more importantly the power of music to bring people together across the world.”

Superunion’s Executive Creative Director, Stuart Radford and Creative Director, Katherina Tudball says: “We are thrilled to create the 67th Eurovision Song Contest visual identity in partnership with Ukrainian agency, Starlight, and the BBC. For this year’s theme, United By Music, our solution was inspired by research showing that when experiencing live music together, human hearts synchronise to beat in unison. This insight led to the creative concept of 160 million hearts beating as one, an idea that captures the universal spirit of Eurovision.”

Olena Martynova, CEO, Starlight Creative comments: “Creativity and music both have the power to unite and inspire. We are so proud to be part of the creative concept for such an important musical event when more than ever, we need to come together as a global community. For Starlight, it is an opportunity to represent Ukraine on an international stage, showcase our creative and musical ability, and create something that honours our strength and the power of unity.”

The government has published proposals for crypto-asset regulation it hopes will “manage” the risks of the “turbulent industry”. 

The sector has had a calamitous year, with assets collapsing in value by an estimated 75% from their peak of about $3 trillion in November 2021.

Ministers estimate up to 10% of UK adults now own some form of crypto.

They plan to use existing regulations for the industry, rather than creating a bespoke regime.

The Treasury says that will allow crypto to benefit from the “confidence, credibility and regulatory clarity” of the existing system for financial services, as set out in the UK’s Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA).

It wants to create a level playing field between traditional and emerging financial services, where the principle is “same risk, same regulatory outcome”.

But it also acknowledges some crypto businesses may simply choose to continue operating in offshore jurisdictions that “do not impose equivalent market-abuse rules”.

The Treasury says its proposals – which it’s now consulting on – will:

• lay down rules on crypto-asset promotions which are fair, clear and not misleading
• enhance data-reporting requirements, including with regulators
• implement new regulations to prevent so-called pump and dump, where an individual artificially inflates the value of a crypto asset before selling it

Ministers say the measures will “mitigate the most significant risks” of crypto technologies, while “harnessing their advantages”. 

Economic Secretary to the Treasury Andrew Griffith said the government remained “steadfast in our commitment to grow the economy and enable technological change and innovation – and this includes crypto-asset technology”.

“But we must also protect consumers who are embracing this new technology – ensuring robust, transparent and fair standards,” he added.