Ukrainian band Kalush Orchestra wins Eurovision festival

The Ukrainian folk rap group Kalush Orchestra won the Eurovision festival on Saturday (14), riding a wave of goodwill from European nations to claim the country’s third victory at the event.

The song “Stefania”, written about the singer’s mother, beat the main rivals of the United Kingdom and Spain in the competition in the Italian city of Turin.

The event marked the first major cultural event that Ukrainians have attended since the invasion of Russia in February, and many in the audience waved the country’s blue and yellow national flag.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky praised the Kalush Orchestra in an Instagram post just seconds after the announcement of their victory.
“Our courage impresses the world, our music conquers Europe!”, he said.

Alluding to the rule that a winner of the previous year’s competition can host the contest, he said: “next year Ukraine will host Eurovision! For the third time in its history. And I believe it will not be the last. Better one day to welcome Eurovision participants and guests to Mariupol, free, peaceful and rebuilt!”

Tamile Tasheva, the Ukrainian president’s permanent representative in Crimea, suggested Yalta, a resort town on the southern coast of the Ukrainian peninsula that was annexed by Russia in 2014, as a possible location.

The entry of “Stefania”, sung in Ukrainian, is a tribute to the mother of vocalist Oleg Psyuk, who still lives in the western town of Kalush, from which the band takes its name.

“Some days there are rockets flying over people’s homes and it’s like a lottery – no one knows where it’s going to land,” Psyuk told CNN this week before your presentation.

“As we speak, our country and our culture are threatened. But we want to show that we are alive, Ukrainian culture is alive, it is unique, diverse and beautiful.”

The event in Turin saw many of the elaborate performances and camps that have become the hallmarks of Eurovision. A Norwegian entry by electronic duo Subwoolfer warned of hungry animals eating the singers’ grandparents, while Serbian Konstrakta mused on the hair secret of Meghan, Duchess of Sussex.

But fans supported Ukraine’s entry, and the band received one of the loudest cheers of the night when they took the stage.

In a bar in central Kiev, not far from the famous golden-roofed Saint Sophia Cathedral, a small Eurovision party was taking place on Saturday night.

Max Tolmachov, owner of the Buena Vista bar, said people who came to the place were willing to show their support for Ukraine — even if Eurovision wasn’t exactly what they liked.

“They want to show their patriotic spirit. This war has been very difficult for people and this is an opportunity to put the dark thoughts aside for a little bit,” he told CNN .

His bar also played a role in Ukraine’s resistance. During the height of the battle for Kiev, a military checkpoint was positioned right in front of it. “Soldiers came to rest for a while, we were cooking for them – borscht, soups, meat, potatoes, there weren’t many options at the time,” he declared.

While many were excited to see Ukraine win the competition, no big party took place in the capital. A curfew starting at 10pm local time, the same time as the Eurovision broadcast, meant people couldn’t go home after the parties were over.

However, Tolmachov had a plan — his team agreed to stay overnight so customers could party into the wee hours.

This year’s Eurovision took place in Italy after a victory by punk rock band Maneskin last year. It was the first Eurovision final to take place without major Covid-19 restrictions since the start of the pandemic. The 2020 edition was canceled and last year’s restrictions happened with some remote performances.

The Kalush Orchestra initially finished second in the Ukraine national team competition, but was the winner after the original winner traveled to Crimea, annexed to Russia. The group was introduced as the country’s entry on February 22, two days before Russian troops invaded Ukraine.