Ukraine hopes to win Eurovision as Kalush orchestra appeals to Mariupol on stage
Voting has begun in the Eurovision Song Contest, with strong favorites Ukraine expected to win. They appeared twelfth in the running order of the show, and the lead singer Ole Psyuk shouted: “Please help Ukraine, Mariupol. Help Azovstal now” from the front of the stage after the band’s performance.
In a video address released before the event, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was confident the Kalush orchestra would win. “Europe, vote for the Kalush Orchestra. Let us support our fellow countrymen! Let’s support Ukraine!” he said.
Their song, which mixes rap with elements of Ukrainian folk music, was originally written in honor of the group’s mothers. The group later dedicated it to all of Ukraine’s patriarchs, as lines such as “I will always find my home, even if all roads are destroyed” found new resonance. The six men who made up the group had to obtain special permits to leave Ukraine and travel to Italy during the war.
If I were a betting man – I am not – I would still put my money on Ukraine this time. I think he will be in such a good position that public vote will make him stand in line. Austria just opened some Champagne Live On Air and gave the UK 12 points, so…
I can’t really remember why there was such a technical difficulty in getting the jury on the show. Have we lost those three by now?
If you haven’t been watching the show, I’m not very helpful about what the scores are, but the UK, Sweden, Spain, Ukraine and Greece are still in contention. All my evening predictions have been terrible, and I have been drafting my resignation letter to the Eurovision Song Contest Live Bloggers Union.
I didn’t expect to be on the jury of 20 and top the UK leaderboard. Take a print out of it and save it for your kids.
Televote can massively move the scoreboard around, but at this point I’d risk it going down the wire. If Ukraine are placed in the top five when their televote comes, we will know whether they have an unassailable lead or it will still be possible for the UK, Sweden, Spain or Greece to overhaul them. a nail biter. I was not expecting that.
Let us not get ahead of ourselves, but…
Whatever happens from here, it is a big sign of a change in the BBC’s approach to song selection and will also silence a lot of people “Europe will never vote for Britain because of politics, we must kick out “Voices.
The big question at the moment is whether they have stopped many of the juries that voted for Ukraine, and will the public vote still be strong enough to replace the current front? Enough enjoying the fandom of Greece, although not being able to vote for Cyprus.
I’m essentially in shock that potentially “the UK does well in the Eurovision story” and even… no, I can’t type that.
TIX from Norway casting its vote. He competed in the giant wings last year. His TIX nickname comes from the fact that he has Tourette’s syndrome and will therefore display tics. He made it a part of his identity. Returning artist KLAXON.
Technical difficulties with the Azerbaijan jury but then they gave the UK 12 points. Let the conspiracy theories begin!
Spain, Britain, Sweden and Greece are ramping up voting.
If you recognize this woman from Ukraine, Katarina Pavlenko, it’s because she’s the singer from Go_A, who shocked the world last year in Rotterdam wearing Keith Harris’s Orville puppet skins.
Go_A should have won last year – have I thought about it yet? – But did you know that she also did a scintillating cover version of Verka Serduchka’s famous dancing Lasha Mumbai, which was worth three minutes of your time, at least not for Katrina’s absolutely deadpan dancing.
Does this count as a returning artist bingo? Why not.
As I remind you, they had all the jury scores last night, so if you want to engineer an interesting race, you have all the data.
I understand you want to make the most of when you’ve got your 30 seconds, but I’ve always felt like these Eurovision jury people have never seen the show. Shut up and go with it already.
The real Mika…
As you can tell from my commentary – Vote Netherlands! Vote Sweden! – I’ve been completely neutral tonight. My colleague Angela Gifrida sent this photo backstage to the French press, breaking its sacred vow to be fair about Eurovision – Vote for the Netherlands! Vote Sweden! – While France was running.
Of course I’m kidding, but there was this scene in the press room on Tuesday when Ukraine demonstrated.