Ukraine wins Eurovision Song Contest in wave of goodwill following invasion by Russia

Alluding to the rule {that a} winner of the earlier yr’s competitors will get to host the competition, he stated: “Subsequent yr Ukraine will host Eurovision! For the third time in its historical past. And, I imagine, not the final. We are going to do our greatest to at some point host the members and friends of Eurovision in Ukrainian Mariupol. Free, peaceable, rebuilt!”

Tamile Tasheva, the everlasting consultant of the President of Ukraine to Crimea, recommended Yalta, a resort metropolis on the south coast of Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula that was annexed by Russia in 2014, as a attainable venue.

The nation’s entry “Stefania,” sung in Ukrainian, is a tribute to frontman Oleg Psyuk’s mom, who nonetheless lives within the western metropolis of Kalush, from which the band takes its title. “On some days there are rockets flying over individuals’s homes and it is sort of a lottery — nobody is aware of the place it’ll hit,” Psyuk advised CNN this week forward of his efficiency.

“As we converse, our nation and our tradition is underneath risk. However we wish to present that we’re alive, Ukrainian tradition is alive; it’s distinctive, numerous, and delightful.”

The occasion in Turin noticed a number of of the flowery and camp performances which have develop into Eurovision’s hallmark. A Norwegian entry by electro duo Subwoolfer warned of hungry animals consuming the singers’ grandparents, whereas Serbia’s Konstrakta meditated on the key to Meghan, Duchess of Sussex’s hair.

However followers rallied behind Ukraine’s entry, and the band acquired one of many loudest cheers of the night time after they took to the stage.

In a bar in central Kyiv, not removed from the town’s well-known golden roofed Saint Sophia Cathedral, a small Eurovision viewing social gathering was going down on Saturday night time. Max Tolmachov, the proprietor of the Buena Vista bar, stated individuals who got here to the bar have been eager to point out their help for Ukraine — even when Eurovision wasn’t precisely their factor.

“They wish to present their patriotic spirit. This battle has been actually arduous on individuals and this is a chance to place the darkish ideas apart for a bit,” he advised CNN.

His bar performed a task in Ukraine’s resistance too. In the course of the peak of the battle for Kyiv, a navy checkpoint was positioned proper in entrance of it. “The troopers would are available in to get some relaxation, we have been cooking meals for them — borscht, soups, meat, potatoes, there wasn’t a lot choice on the time,” he stated.

Whereas many have been excited to look at Ukraine’s victory within the contest, no huge events occurred within the capital on Saturday. A strict curfew that begins at 10 p.m. native time, the identical time because the Eurovision broadcast, meant individuals would not have the ability to get house as soon as the events wrapped up.

Tolmachov had a plan although — his workers agreed to remain by way of the night time so patrons might social gathering till the small hours.

This yr’s Eurovision occurred in Italy following a victory by punk rock band Maneskin final yr. It was the primary Eurovision remaining to happen with out main Covid restrictions for the reason that pandemic started; the 2020 version was cancelled, and final yr’s featured crowd restrictions and a few distant performances.

Kalush Orchestra initially completed second in Ukraine’s nationwide choice competitors, however was elevated after it emerged the winner had beforehand traveled to Russian-annexed Crimea. The group was unveiled because the nation’s entry on February 22, two days earlier than Russian troops invaded Ukraine.