Sweden’s Loreen won the Eurovision Song Contest for the second time, a historic victory at a show held in Liverpool, UK, on behalf of Ukraine.
She became the second artist to win the competition more than once, claiming victory with the pop song “Tattoo” and cementing her legacy in the most watched music competition in the world, with an estimated audience of 160 million viewers.
In this year’s edition, the representative of Finland was in second position, and Israel, in third.
Loreen had already won the contest in Baku in 2012 with her career-changing hit “Euphoria”. Her latest win has Sweden tied with Ireland for the most wins in the competition, with seven awards — 50 years after ABBA won with “Waterloo”, the moment that propelled them to stardom.
The Swedish artist said that she had not thought about participating in the contest until she heard what her song would be. “When I heard ‘Tattoo’, even before they told me about Melodifestivalen (the Swedish selection that chooses the representative for Eurovision), I felt a mixture of pleasure and terror. I knew something was up.”
The show was staged in Britain for the first time in over two decades after the country – which came second last year – took over hosting duties on behalf of 2022 winner Ukraine. the awards will take place in Sweden.
The UK put on a moving show that paid tribute to war refugees and celebrated the music of both countries. But a request by President Volodymyr Zelensky to speak about the concert was turned down, organizers said on Friday.
Ukraine’s electronic duo Tvorchi finished in sixth place, while Great Britain returned to their traditional position at the bottom of the leaderboard, occupying 25th place – penultimate.
second prize
Swedish singer Loreen told CNN before the final, that his first victory was one of the most important moments in life.
“Before ‘Euphoria,’ I was an artist struggling to find my way,” she said. “It’s like home to me, the Eurovision community, it’s a safe space.”
But, she had to beat stiff competition from Finnish rapper Käärijä, whose energetic performances of “Cha Cha Cha” throughout the week delighted fans and made him a strong contender for the title.
The top five were completed by Israel, Italy and Norway.
The Swede is the first woman to win the pageant twice. Only Johnny Logan from Ireland has taken the festival twice.
“It sounds crazy. This is so surreal, man, I’m happy and grateful, I’m grateful to all of you who voted for me,” she said after her win was announced.
“The only thing I feel right now is a lot of love. Not in my wildest dreams did I think this would happen.”
In the host city of Liverpool, Eurovision fans without tickets packed the venues to watch the show on big screens. Many of them were waving Ukrainian flags.
The British government made 3,000 discounted tickets available this week for refugees from Ukraine.
Eurovision is a festival considered eccentric, and this year’s show lived up to its billing with a string of strong performances from 26 finalists.
He also designed the port city of Liverpool — the home of the Beatles — onto the continent’s cultural map.
Source: CNN Brasil
I’m Robert Neff, a professional writer and editor. I specialize in the entertainment section, providing up-to-date coverage on the latest developments in film, television and music. My work has been featured on World Stock Market and other prominent publications.
