Eurovision grand final opens with appearances from Kate and Kalush Orchestra

The grand final of the Eurovision Song Contest has kicked off in Liverpool with a flag parade featuring the countries vying for its coveted glass microphone trophy.

The Princess of Wales made a surprise appearance playing the piano in a pre-recorded opening video featuring last year’s winners Kalush Orchestra.

In the auditorium, a troupe of drummers joined Kalush Orchestra on stage to open the grand final as pyrotechnics lit up the arena.

The Chemical Brothers track Hey Boy Hey Girl was played as the countries competing in the final began to walk onto the stage with their national flags.

Former Ukrainian contestants Go_A, Tina Karol and Jamala, who won for Ukraine in 2016, performed in between the contestants appearing.

The UK’s Mae Muller walked out onto the stage stage before the crowd were treated to a performance from Verka Serduchka, who entered the contest for Ukraine in 2007.

Graham Norton welcomed viewers to the final alongside alongside co-hosts Alesha Dixon, Hannah Waddingham and Ukrainian singer Julia Sanina.

Norton added: “United we are, well out here. But backstage the competition is fierce.”

Dixon wore a one-shouldered blue sparkly dress, while Sanina wore a full-length yellow dress with a structured neckline, and Waddingham styled an off-the-shoulder purple metallic dress.

Twenty-six acts will perform at the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool to an expected global audience of 160 million viewers, according to the BBC.

Austria’s Teya and Salena were first on stage with quirky dance-pop tune Who The Hell Is Edgar? – about being possessed by the ghost of 19th century Gothic author Edgar Allan Poe.

Muller will close the show with I Wrote A Song – a slot generally considered a disadvantage.

But they all face tough competition from previous winner Loreen, representing Sweden, and Kaarija, representing Finland, both favourites to win.