The Ukrainian group Kalush Orchestra has won the Eurovision Song Contest. For Switzerland, the result was modest, Germany even came last.
The group Kalush Orchestra from Ukraine on stage after winning the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Turin
pop./ (dpa) The Ukrainian group Kalush Orchestra prevailed against 24 artists and bands in Turin, Italy, on Sunday night with the hip-hip song “Stefania” and won this year’s Eurovision Song Contest (ESC).
Sung in Ukrainian, the winning track combines rap with traditional folk music and pays homage to the mother of band frontman Oleh Psiuk. Against the background of the Russian attack on their homeland, a victory for the group was widely expected. This was also very clear with a total score of 631.
Switzerland in 17th place, Germany last
Switzerland, represented by Marius Baer with the ballad “Boys Do Cry”, ended up in 17th place out of a total of 25 finalists. Baer received 78 points, all from the jury evaluation: There were no points from the spectators.
Germany even ended up in last place overall. The song “Rockstars” by Malik Harris did not receive a single point in the vote of the experts. Germany also only received a meager six points in the audience vote. The Federal Republic was the only country among the 25 finalists who did not get a vote from a jury on Sunday night.
ESC organizer: Irregularities in the jury vote
At the same time, it became known that the ESC organizers were investigating possible manipulations in the second semi-final. Irregularities in the jury vote were found in six countries, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) announced on Sunday night. Country names were initially not mentioned. Instead, an average value was formed in the affected countries from the points of other countries that had voted similarly. Details were not given.
“The EBU takes all suspected attempts to manipulate the voting at the Eurovision Song Contest extremely seriously,” it said in a statement. The Broadcasting Union has the right to remove the affected voices – even if they affect the output.
The second semi-final on Thursday saw a further ten countries qualify for Saturday’s finals, which will then have a total of 25 participants: Finland, Poland, Belgium, Sweden, Estonia, Azerbaijan, the Czech Republic, Romania, Serbia and Australia.