Ukraine wins Eurovision
TURIN, ITALY Ukrainian band Kalush Orchestra won the Eurovision Song Contest in the early hours of Sunday in a show of popular support for the war-ravaged nation that went beyond music.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed the victory, Ukraine’s third since its 2003 Eurovision debut, and said “we will do our best” to host next year’s contest in the hotly contested port city of Mariupol. He underlined “Ukrainian Mariupol,” adding: “free, peaceful, rebuilt!”
“I am sure our victorious chord in the battle with the enemy is not far off,” Zelenskyy said in a post on Telegram.
Kalush Orchestra’s frontman, Oleh Psiuk, took advantage of the enormous global audience, last year numbering more than 180 million, to make impassioned plea to free fighters still trapped beneath a steel plant in Mariupol following their performance. “Help Azovstal, right now,” he implored.
Kalush Orchestra’s song, “Stefania,” was the sentimental and bookmakers’ favourite among the 25 competing performers in the grand finale. The public vote from home proved decisive, lifting them above British Tik Tok star Sam Ryder, who led after the national juries in 40 countries cast their votes.
The 439 fan votes is the highest number of televote points ever received in a Eurovision contest, now in its 66th year. Psiuk thanked the Ukrainian diaspora and “and everyone around the world who voted for Ukraine … The victory is very important to Ukraine. Especially this year.”