We can't get to Eurovision! Music fans blast train strikes as thousands ... trends now
Music fans have been left heartbroken in the UK today as they face missing out on attending the first Eurovision Song Contest in Britain in 25 years due to rail strikes, meaning they are unable to travel to Liverpool in time.
Thousands are expected to travel to Liverpool for Saturday's grand final, which is being staged in the UK on behalf of last year's winners Ukraine - who are fighting a Russian invasion - after Sam Ryder came second for Britain in 2022.
Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) have walked out at 14 train operators across England in an escalation of a long-running dispute over pay.
Ticketholders have been left furious as they see their plans scuppered, and face missing out on all the performances, including Mae Muller's rendition of I Wrote A Song.
The strike follows action on Friday by train drivers in the Aslef union, which crippled services, with some parts of England having no trains all day.
Euston station was largely empty on Friday, despite thousands of people needing to travel to Liverpool
Platforms at Kings Cross will remain empty today as fans must find an alternative way to reach the contest
Thousands of people will descend on the city throughout Saturday ahead of the grand Eurovision final (Pictured: Crowds in Liverpool watch the second semi-final of the contest on Thursday)
Early on Saturday morning Britons slammed the unions for choosing Eurovision weekend, when the UK is hosting thousands of extra visitors, to stage the strike.
One fan, who faced two changes to her flight and a delay of two-and-a-half hours at Newquay airport this morning, said online: 'I give up.'
A second added: 'So sad you have made your decision to strike to cause maximum disruption to hardworking people and the Eurovision Song Contest being hosted for Ukraine.
'You have a right to strike but you didn't need to do it this weekend! Bad choice!!'
Another fan said: 'How unfair, especially on the people of Ukraine, Liverpool, and all those who wanted to travel to Eurovision.'
Others saw today's strikes as a symptom of a larger problem: 'One of the first things Eurovision visitors will encounter is the rail strike: welcome to world beating broken Britain. Not a good look for a government which cynically recruits such events and the Coronation to its PR machine.'
Aslef's general secretary Mick Whelan revealed there had been no meetings with the Government since early January despite continuing
