Jeremy Makizzi took 19th place, first favorite Ukraine wins the Eurovision Song Contest: “The war did not affect that. Before the raid, we were already very much appreciated ” | Instagram VTM news

It was expected, and so it happened: Ukraine won the Eurovision Song Contest with the song “Stefania”. They only owe it to a viewer’s vote. The jury awarded 192 points – good for fourth place. But viewers at home gave no less than 439 points (!) to Ukraine – the most viewing points ever. As a result, the band rose above the UK – which was still in the lead after a professional jury vote. TikTokker Sam Ryder eventually had to settle for the silver. Spain’s Chanel was the surprise of the evening and took third place. It is also remarkable: Moldova did not do well with the jury, and they had to be content with 14 points. The audience’s verdict was very different: they gave Zdoub’s Zdoub 239 points. After Ukraine, he received the highest overall vote count, and so it turns out that the self-proclaimed Balkan Red Hot Chili Peppers did well in seventh place.

The Kalush Orchestra’s winning song was originally about the singer’s mother, but due to the war in Ukraine, it was rebranded as a battle song for the “Motherland”. The war-torn country was predicted in advance to gain many favorable votes, and so it happened.

Although the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the organization behind the song contest, is trying to exclude as much of the competition as possible politically, this was inevitable this year – especially after Russia was banned from participating. Then rapper Ole Bisik, conductor of the Kalush Orchestra, broke the rules by making an appeal to Europe after their performance. “Europe, help us. Help Ukraine, help Mariupol, help Azovstal (the besieged steel factory where Ukrainians still reside) immediately!” Even after their victory, a politically colorful statement followed. “Thank you for your support Ukraine. This is a victory for every Ukrainian.”

At the press conference, Ukraine was asked if the war had helped them – no matter how terrible – to win the match. “The war hasn’t affected that,” Bisuk said. “Before the raid, we were already very much appreciated.” It is said that the band has not yet communicated with President Zelensky. “He’s busy with other important things right now.”

The political aspect of the song contest was the bad luck of the UK, which achieved a good result for the first time in years. Despite the UK being one of the “Big Five” and qualifying directly for the final, they’ve been rocking for years. Only the country has made it into the top ten this century: Jessica Garlick took third place in 2003, and Jade Ewen took fifth in 2009. In all other editions, the UK was consistently behind, finishing last five times, with last year’s entry – James Newman ‘Embers’ – To the Lowest. The song did not score a single point.

Last year, the tipping point began when TaP Management, the team behind big names like Dua Lipa and Lana Del Rey, picked the British entry from music company BMG. In March, TikTok star and singer Sam Ryder was announced as the man responsible for Britain’s success. The singer became known during his first coronation period by singing songs to well-known songs on social media. He now has more than 12 million followers on the platform. A smart choice, because we dare say he could have won without the war in Ukraine.

Jérémie Makiese made a clean version of “Miss You”, but it wasn’t really appealing to a European viewer. Our country got 59 points from the professional jury, but then only five points were added from the people. The singing guard thus took the nineteenth place, exactly the same as the Hoverphonic.