- Ukraine won the 66th Eurovision Song Contest. The formation Kalush Orchestra got the most points with the song “Stefania”. Since the outbreak of war, the band has been an absolute favourite.
- The ESC 2022 remained exciting until the last minute, because the Brit Sam Ryder led the ranking for a long time, but was then relegated to second place.
- The Swiss Marius Bear was not able to convince the audience and ended up in 17th place.
Ukrainian representatives won the Eurovision Song Contest 2022. This despite the fact that they made a political statement at the end of their performance and thus violated the rules of the music competition.
“I ask all of you: Please help Ukraine, Mariupol, help Azovstal – right now,” said singer Oleh Psjuk on Saturday evening (“I ask you all: Help Ukraine, Mariupol and the people in the Azov steelworks”).
I ask you all: help Ukraine, Mariupol and the people of the Azov steel mill.
In a combative gesture, Psjuk then hit his chest with the fist of his right hand. The steelworks in Mariupol he mentioned is currently under fire from the Russian army. But according to the rules, “texts, speeches and gestures of a political nature” are explicitly forbidden on the ESC stage.
ESC hosts reacted with a serious expression
The audience, on the other hand, expressed its solidarity with Ukraine – first with loud applause in the hall, later with an incredible 439 points in televoting. Already at the beginning of the show a common sign against the war was set.
1000 musicians sang the John Lennon classic «Give Peace a Chance» («Give Peace a Chance») on a large square in downtown Turin. The 7,000 spectators in the ESC hall agreed.
Exciting to the end
The big favorite of the juries was clearly Great Britain. Unlike the TV audience, they didn’t rate the performances during the show, but rather the second dress rehearsal the night before. The jury members from all countries see this so-called jury finale in a special, non-public broadcast.
Here Sam Ryder was able to score with his powerful voice and his humorous appearance. The 32-year-old was clearly voted first place by the jury. Sam Ryder became known for his TikTok videos during the pandemic. The Brit now has over 12.3 million followers.
Slipped from 12th to 17th place
Marius Bear ended up in 17th place with his ballad “Boys Do Cry”. The 29-year-old from Appenzell was able to convince the jury; he made it to 12th place with 78 points. However, the TV audience was less impressed and did not give him a single point.
This year, Switzerland made it to the final of the ESC for the third time in a row. Bear’s predecessors Gjon’s Tears (3rd place) and Luca Hänni (4th place) brought Switzerland out of the ESC swamp in 2021 and 2019 with very good results.
The largest singing competition in the world was held in Italy for the third time this year – after 1965 in Naples and 1991 in Rome. Last year’s edition in Rotterdam was won by the Italian rock band Måneskin with their song “Zitti e buoni”.