The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
Defeated Mae ‘proud’ as Eurovision hits TV high
Mae Muller has admitted her second-frombottom Eurovision finish was “not the result we hoped for” as the grand final in Liverpool became the most watched in history.
The live broadcast saw an average of 9.9 million UK viewers and a peak of 11 million tune in to watch London-born singer Muller finish 25th with I Wrote A Song, according to overnight ratings.
Germany was the only nation to finish below the UK, on 18 points.
Posting on Twitter yesterday, 25-year-old Muller said: “I just want to say thank u x i know i joke a lot but we really put our all into the last few months, not the result we hoped for but so proud of everyone & what we achieved on this journey.”
The disappointment comes just 12 months after the UK finished second behind Ukraine when Sam Ryder wowed with his hit Space Man, which saw 8.9 million tune in.
The live broadcast made ratings history on Saturday, beating the previous record of 9.5 million people who tuned in to watch UK entry Blue compete in the competition in 2011 with the song I Can.
BBC director of unscripted Kate Phillips said: “What an incredible contest. It was unforgettable, unmissable event television on a scale never seen before delivered by the BBC.
“Sweden took home the trophy in spectacular style and 2022 winners Ukraine were at the heart of the show. Liverpool welcomed the world’s biggest singing competition with open arms and embraced it beyond all of our expectations.”
It was Sweden’s Loreen who stormed to victory on the night, making history as the first woman and second person to win the song competition twice after her win in 2012.
She scored a total of 583 points after the public and jury votes were combined, narrowly beating Finland’s Kaarija who scored 526.
The win also ties her native Sweden with Ireland as the nation with the most wins, with seven apiece.
Loreen’s win with Tattoo also means that Sweden will host the competition next year on the 50th anniversary of Abba winning Eurovision with their hit Waterloo.
After she was announced as the winner at the M&S Bank Arena, Loreen returned to the stage and was handed the trophy by last year’s winners Kalush Orchestra of Ukraine.
Her win means she equals the record held by Irish singer Johnny Logan, who triumphed at the contest in both 1980 and 1987.
The Ukrainian entry, the brooding electronic duo Tvorchi, scored 243 points and came sixth.
The grand final featured a series of musical tributes to Ukraine, which would have hosted the contest this year had it not been for the Russian invasion.
The night opened with a pre-recorded video featuring last year’s winners Kalush Orchestra – and a surprise appearance from the Princess of Wales playing the piano.
They were joined by Ryder playing the guitar on the top of the Liver Building on the Liverpool waterfront.
Former Ukrainian contestants Go-A, Tina Karol and Jamala, who won for Ukraine in 2016, performed in between this year’s hopefuls arriving for the flag parade.
But there was no appearance from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was barred from addressing the event.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has said his country is preparing a counteroffensive designed to liberate areas occupied by Russia, not to attack Russian territory.
Speaking during a news conference with German chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin, Mr Zelensky said Ukraine’s goal was to free the territories within its internationally recognised borders.
There has been speculation that Ukraine might try to capture areas in Russia proper and use them as bargaining chips in possible peace negotiations to end the war launched by Moscow in February 2022.
Pressed by reporters on the issue, Mr Zelensky said: “We don’t attack Russian territory, we liberate our own legitimate territory.”
“We have neither the time nor the strength (to attack Russia),” he said, according to an official interpreter.
“And we also don’t have weapons to spare, with which we could do this.
“We are preparing a counterattack for the illegally occupied areas based on our constitutionally defined legitimate borders, which are recognised internationally,” Mr Zelensky said.
The Ukrainian president is visiting allies in search of further arms to help his country fend off the Russian invasion, and funds to rebuild what has been destroyed by more than a year of devastating conflict.
A Luftwaffe jet flew Mr Zelensky to the German capital from Rome, where he had met with Pope Francis and Italian premier Giorgia Meloni on Saturday.
It is his first visit to Berlin since the start of the war and comes a day after the German government announced a new package of military aid for Ukraine worth more than 2.7 billion euros (£2.4 billion), including tanks, antiaircraft systems and ammunition.
Mr Zelensky thanked Mr Scholz for Germany’s political, financial and military support, saying the country was now second only behind the US in providing aid to Ukraine.
Mr Scholz made clear that Kyiv could expect German aid to keep flowing.
“We will support you for as long as necessary,” he said, adding that it was up to Russia to end the war by withdrawing its troops.
After initially hesitating to provide Ukraine with lethal weapons, Germany has become one of the biggest suppliers of arms to Ukraine, including Leopard 1 and 2 battle tanks, and the sophisticated IRIS-T SLM air-defence system.
Modern Western hardware is considered crucial if Ukraine is to succeed in its planned counteroffensive against Russian troops.
After meeting Mr Scholz and other senior officials at the chancellery, the two leaders were expected to fly to the western city of Aachen for Mr Zelensky to receive the International Charlemagne Prize awarded to him and the people of Ukraine.
Organisers said the award recognised that their resistance against Russia’s invasion was a defence “not just of the sovereignty of their country and the life of its citizens, but also of Europe and European values”.