Ukrainian band ‘Kalush Orchestra’ wins 2022 Eurovision amid war

Turin (Italy), May 15

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Ukrainian band ‘Kalush Orchestra’ won the Eurovision song contest in the early hours of Sunday in a clear show of popular support for the war-ravaged nation that went beyond music.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed the victory, Ukraine’s third since its 2003 Eurovision debut, and said “we will do our best” to host next year’s contest in the hotly contested port city of Mariupol.

He underlined “Ukrainian Mariupol,” adding “free, peaceful, rebuilt!”

“I am sure our victorious chord in the battle with the enemy is not far off,” Zelenskyy said in a post on the Telegram messaging app.

Kalush Orchestra’s front man, Oleh Psiuk, took advantage of the enormous global audience, last year numbering more than 180 million, to make impassioned plea to free fighters still trapped beneath a sprawling steel plant in Mariupol following their performance.

“Help Azovstal, right now,” Psiuk implored from beneath a bright bucket hat that has become the band’s trademark among fans.

Kalush Orchestra’s song, “Stefania”, was sentimental and bookmakers’ favorite among the 25 competing performers in the grand finale. The public vote from home, via text message or the Eurovision app, proved decisive, lifting them above British Tik Tok star Sam Ryder, who led after the national juries in 40 countries cast their votes.

The 439 fan votes are the highest number of televote points ever received in a Eurovision contest, now in its 66th year.

Psiuk thanked the Ukrainian diaspora and “everyone around the world who voted for Ukraine. The victory is very important to Ukraine. Especially this year,” he said.

“Stefania” was penned by Psiuk as a tribute to his mother, but since Russia’s February 24 invasion, it had become an anthem to the motherland, with lyrics that pledge: “I’ll always find my way home, even if all roads are destroyed.”

Kalush Orchestra itself is a cultural project that includes folklore experts and mixes traditional folk melodies and contemporary hip-hop in a purposeful defence of Ukrainian culture. That has become an even more salient point as Russia through its invasion has sought falsely to assert that Ukraine’s culture is not unique.

“We are here to show that Ukrainian culture and Ukrainian music are alive, and they have their own and very special signature,” Psuik told journalists.

The plea to free the remaining Ukrainian fighters trapped beneath the Azovstal plant by Russians served as a somber reminder that the hugely popular and at times flamboyant Eurovision song contest was being played out against the backdrop of a war on Europe’s eastern flank.

The Azov battalion, which is among the plant’s last 1,000 defenders, sent their thanks from the warren of tunnels beneath the plant, posting on Telegram: “Thank you to Kalush Orchestra for your support! Glory to Ukraine!”

The six-member, all-male band received special permission to leave the country to represent Ukraine and Ukrainian culture at the music contest. One of the original members stayed to fight, and the others will be back in Ukraine in two days, when their temporary exit permit expires.

The winner takes home a glass microphone trophy and a potential career boost — although Kalush Orchestra’s first concern is peace.