In a symbolic victory, more than three months after the Russian invasion, Ukraine took top honors in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest.
The annual songwriting and performance competition is often seen as an opportunity to celebrate a wide variety of musical styles, appreciate the sometimes kitschy presentations, and feel national pride. The winner will be chosen by panels of professional musicians and television viewers across Europe, although the public cannot vote for the contestant from their own country.
Entrants are being admonished to abstain from political topics, but the popular sentiment of the day can influence votes and Ukraine was recognized as a favorite in the contest this year.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky praised the band on Instagram seconds after Ukraine’s victory was announced.
“Our courage impresses the world, our music conquers Europe!” he said in the mail. Alluding to the rule that a winner of last year’s contest gets to host the contest, he said: “Next year Ukraine will host the Eurovision Song Contest! For the third time in its history. And I believe – not the last. We will do our best to one day receive the participants and guests of Eurovision in Mariupol, Ukraine. Free, peaceful, rebuilt!”
Ukraine’s participant was a group called the Kalush Orchestra, who played a folk/hip-hop-esque song called “Stefania”, about the singer’s mother.
Kalush is the name of the town where singer Oleh Psyuk grew up, in the foothills of the Carpathians, about 375 miles west of Kiev.
The folk rap group initially finished second in Ukraine’s national selection competition, but moved up the ranks after it was revealed that the first winner had previously traveled to Russia-annexed Crimea. They were unveiled as the country’s entry on February 22, two days before Russian forces invaded Ukraine.
“Right now our country and our culture are under threat. But we want to show that we are alive, the Ukrainian culture is alive, it is unique, diverse and beautiful,” Oleg Psyuk, the band’s frontman, previously told DailyExpertNews.
Eurovision is one of the world’s most watched events, excluding sports, with hundreds of millions of viewers, and it often launches or revives the careers of songwriters, artists and featured songs thanks to such wide exposure.
Traditionally, the winning country hosts the following year’s event, which draws thousands of spectators and entertainment journalists and draws attention to the country’s tourism industry.