In Turin, yellow and blue adorn the bodywork of buses, football shirts, the ceilings of royal palaces. It so happens that the historic colors of the Piedmontese city are also those of Ukraine. On the night of May 14 to 15, the coincidence brought good luck to the country at war: its representative, the group Kalush Orchestra, flew over the Eurovision final, including the 66and edition was held in the Italian metropolis.
A triumph acquired thanks to the vote of the public, who placed his song, Stefania, far ahead of the other 24 – making the tighter jury votes anecdotal. With an average audience of 200 million spectators, increased tenfold by social networks, telecrochet is the most watched non-sporting event in Europe. In this yardstick, the coronation of Kalush Orchestra testifies first of all to the surge of solidarity that continues to arouse the Ukrainian tragedy, nearly three months after the Russian invasion. President Volodymyr Zelensky, who had urged the Old Continent to vote for his compatriots, hailed their victory on Instagram: “Our courage impresses the world, our music conquers Europe! » Adding, not without optimism: “Next year, Ukraine will host Eurovision! »
In principle, the Eurovision rules prohibit any politicized message. From the opening of the ceremony, however, the Lebanese host and singer Mika heated the room by resuming Give Peace a Chance, by John Lennon. Shortly after, the Icelandic candidates launched a vibrant ” Peace to Ukraine! » at the end of their piece: at Eurovision, politics, driven out the door, always comes back through the window.
Eurovision more political than ever
So Stefania. The track was written in tribute to the mother of the leader of Kalush Orchestra, rapper Oleh Psiouk. It was before the war. Since then, it’s hard not to hear a hymn to the motherland. “I will always come to you on broken roads”, say the lyrics, in Ukrainian. On February 22, Kalush Orchestra agreed to replace the originally designated representative, Alina Pash. Her withdrawal followed revelations of a trip she made in 2015 to Crimea, after Russian annexation. As for Russia, it was excluded the day after the first strikes, on February 25. Apolitical, Eurovision? Less than ever.
The six Ukrainians present in Turin are all old enough to be mobilized. At the start of the conflict, some provided the victims with medicine, others joined the national reserve. To be able to prepare somehow, they obtained a derogation. Before, in the next few days, returning to participate in the war effort.
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