Liverpool is ready to welcome the world for this year's Eurovision Song Contest! Some famous faces from the city are uniting to show their support for 2022 winners Ukraine with some very special BBC filming.

Ukrainian Everton FC player, Vitalii Mykolenko, who has been instrumental in the city's sport scene, features in photos released today in the stands of Goodison Park. The 23-year-old left-back previously played for FC Dynamo Kyiv back in his home country, before joining his current Premier League club last year. For an FA Cup Fifth Round match in March 2022 against Boreham Wood, he was named Everton captain as a show of solidarity against the conflict in Ukraine.

Other sports stars making an appearance are Liverpool FC Women's players Emma Koivisto from Finland, and Sofie Lundgaard from Denmark, who can be seen proudly displaying the Ukrainian flag while kicking a ball around Liverpool's legendary Anfield Stadium.

Also, in a set of teaser photos released today, baking extraordinaire Paul Hollywood has created a Ukrainian welcome cake. His blue and yellow sponge, boldly representing the colours of the Ukrainian flag, is sure to add an extra layer of excitement to the proceedings in the Liverpool Arena.

Find out more and see which other famous Liverpudlians are set to welcome the world to Liverpool when the Contest kicks off on BBC One and BBC iPlayer with the first Semi-Final on 9 May.