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Ukraine have won the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest in a landslide victory on the public vote. The hip-hop folk band Kalush Orchestra took the title as predicted, with the support of Europe and the wider global audience willing them to victory.
Kalush Orchestra topped the leader board with a staggering 631 points, with a margin of almost 200 points between 1st and 2nd place. The song Stefania, took the top spot and is Ukraine’s third win, following previous successes in 2004 and 2016.
Kalush Orchestra formed as an offshoot of the rap group Kalush, focused on blending modern hip-hop sounds with the motifs found in the traditional music and art of Ukraine. Together, Oleh Psiuk, Ihor Didenchuk, MC KylymMen, Tymofii Muzychuk, Vitalii Duzhyk, and Sasha Tab create a sound and vibe that all of Europe responded to.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1fl60ypdLs
As is tradition in the contest, the winning nation at Eurovision gets to host the contest in their country the following year. Talking about whether or not Ukraine plans to do this, given the current situation in the country, the band explained in their winner’s statement:
“Next year, Ukraine will be happy to host the Eurovision Song Contest, and indeed all of Europe, in the new, integrated, happy Ukraine. It is too soon to talk about our plans, but of course we will do everything possible to make the next Eurovision happen in the new, peaceful Ukraine.”
Speaking of what will happen next for Kalush Orchestra, the group regretfully have to return to the situation in their motherland:
“We have a temporary authorisation to be here, and it ends in two days. And so in two days, we will be back in Ukraine. It’s hard to say what we’re going to do, because this is our first time winning the Eurovision Song Contest! But like every Ukrainian, we are going to fight, and fight until the end.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMzTAHXWdRc&list=PLmWYEDTNOGUIYaFOH5iYjSIQVtKWIbzSk
While Kalush Orchestra were the favourites to win the competition, nobody was expecting the UK to finish in 2nd place. Proving a popular choice with both the judges votes as well as the public, Brits enjoyed the retro sounding Space Man from Sam Ryder, however confusing the turn of events was for the nation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udsMTb2NIak
Six of the participating voting countries, Azerbaijan, Romania, Georgia, Montenegro, Poland, and San Marino were named as showing some irregularities in the shows running up to Saturday’s live final, and so their scores were adjusted by the Eurovision committee as a result.
Cited as “technical difficulties” during the results part of the final event, three of the countries were unable to connect to the studio and give their results, however it is now thought to have been a part of the wider voting problems.
With one hour to go until the end of the live final broadcast, a statement was released from the EBU that read:
“In the analysis of jury voting by the European Broadcasting Union’s (EBU) pan-European voting partner after the Second Dress Rehearsal of the Second Semi-Final of the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest, certain irregular voting patterns were identified in the results of six countries.
In order to comply with the Contest’s Voting Instructions, the EBU worked with its voting partner to calculate a substitute aggregated result for each country concerned for both the Second-Semi Final and the Grand Final (calculated based on the results of other countries with similar voting records).
This process was acknowledged by the Independent Voting Monitor.
The EBU takes any suspected attempts to manipulate the voting at the Eurovision Song Contest extremely seriously and has the right to remove such votes in accordance with the Official Voting Instructions, irrespective of whether or not such votes are likely to influence the results and/or outcome of the voting.”
While there were plenty of gentle, middle-of-the-road style songs in the 2022 contest, there were a few that stood out.
Norway’s Subwoolfer have gained a following with their fun and whimsical interpretation of the musical brief, and it seems that Give That Wolf A Banana may be with us for some time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_AvUlCQ_Cc
Moldova’s song Trenulețul from the band Zdob şi Zdub is almost certainly going to be the Cotton Eyed Joe of the 21st Century.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9RJQPZsj8E
After a fantastic night of entertainment, we sincerely hope that the next Eurovision sees winners Ukraine experiencing better days when they host in 2023.
If you missed it, the entire final is available to watch online:
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Michelle is a musician and composer from the UK. She has performed across the UK and Europe and is passionate about arts education and opportunities for women and girls.
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