LIVERPOOL, England – Swedish singer Loreen won the Eurovision Song Contest Saturday night together with her power ballad “Tattoo” in a colourful, eclectic music competition clouded over by the war in Ukraine for the second 12 months in a row.
The Stockholm diva beat artists from 25 other countries to win the continent’s pop crown at the competition in Liverpool. Finnish singer Käärijä took second place in a fierce battle of Nordic neighbors.
Loreen previously won Eurovision in 2012 and is just the second performer to win the award twice, after Irishman Johnny Logan in the Eighties.
This 12 months, the UK hosted Eurovision on behalf of Ukraine, which won last 12 months but couldn’t exercise its right to host the contest attributable to the war. During the competition, alarm sirens sounded in Ukraine.
Under the motto “united by music”, the Eurovision final united the soul of the English port city from which The Beatles were born spirit of war-torn Ukraine.
The sights and sounds of Ukraine ran through the show, starting with the opening film shown Winners of Eurovision 2022 Kalush Orchestra singing and dancing in the Kiev subway, and the melody was picked up by musicians from Great Britain – including the Princess of Wales, shown playing the piano.
Then the folk-rap band themselves took the stage at the Liverpool Arena on an enormous pair of outstretched hands, accompanied by a crowd of drummers.
Contestants from the 26 finalists entered the arena in an Olympic-style flag parade, accompanied by live performances by Ukrainian bands including Go A, JamalTina Karol and Verka Serduchka – all former Eurovision participants.
For 67 years, Eurovision has been the world’s biggest music competition – the Olympics of party-friendly pop. Each of the participants has three minutes to mix catchy melodies and an eye catching spectacle into performances able to winning the hearts of hundreds of thousands of viewers.
Loreen was the favorite of the bookies and got by far the most votes from the skilled jurors in the complex Eurovision voting system. She faced an in depth challenge from Käärijä, who won the public vote.
He’s a performer with the energy of an Energizer bunny and a shiny green bolero that goes from metal roar to sweet singer in the party anthem “Cha Cha Cha”.
The infectious song got certainly one of the biggest responses from the audience that night.
Italian Marco Mengoni also had a big following for “Due Vite” (Two Lives), a seductive ballad with enigmatic lyrics.
Austrian duo Teya & Salena were the first to perform with the song “Who the Hell is Edgar?” — a goofy satirical ode to Edgar Allen Poe that also hits at the meager royalties musicians earn from streaming services.
Then the diverse tastes of the continent were presented: the cabaret singing of the Portuguese band Mimicat; power pop in the form of Polish Blanka’s Britney; echoes of Edith Piaf from La Zarra for France; smoldering ballad from Cyprus entry, Andrew Lambrou.
Rock was exceptionally well represented this 12 months in a contest that favors perky pop. Australia’s Voyager evoked 80s stadium rock on “Promise”, while Slovenia’s Joker Out and Germany’s “Lord of the Lost” were also guitar tracks.
An unusual candidate was the anti-war rock opera Mama ŠČ! by Croatia’s Let 3, which mocks military dictators amidst Monty Python images before stripping all the way down to her panties on stage.
Electronic duo Tvorrchi paid tribute to Ukraine’s resilience to “Heart of Steel”.
Muller from the UK turned an unenviable final performance of the evening together with her jaunty farewell anthem “I Wrote a Song”. She finished second to last – but at the very least she avoided the humiliation of getting “zero points” – zero points.
While the votes were being forged and counted, Sam Ryder, last 12 months’s UK runner-up, performed his recent single “Mountain” accompanied by Queen drummer Roger Taylor. The “Liverpool Songbook” segment featured former Eurovision stars performing songs from the city, including “Imagine” by John Lennon, “You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)” by Dead or Alive, and the unofficial national anthem “You may Never Walk Alone” — with audience participation as a tribute to Liverpool and Ukraine.
Around 6,000 fans watched the show at the arena and tens of 1000’s watched in the Liverpool Fan Zone and at events on the big screen across the UK.
The worldwide television audience is estimated at 160 million.
In the spring sunshine, 1000’s of fans gathered ahead of the competition on the city’s waterfront – now a sprawling party area – near the competition site.
Many were wrapped in the flags of their favorite nations or dressed as their favorite nudes.
“Happening and seeing people of various nationalities, different cultures – it’s fun,” said Australian fan Martin Troedel, wearing a kangaroo on his hat. “Truthfully, there are some pretty weird performances and that is what I like about it.
“You never know what to anticipate.”
Liverpool has covered Eurovision and Ukraine, with businesses across the city displaying Ukrainian flags and a program of cultural events introducing residents to the art, music and food of this Eastern European country.
But the organizers said they rejected the request President Volodymyr Zelensky make a video address.
The European Broadcasting Union said it might undermine the “non-political nature of the event”.
Founded in 1956, Eurovision is a European cultural institution that has produced groundbreaking stars – ABBA and Celine Dion have been winners in the past – alongside performers whose careers have sunk and not using a trace.
In recent times, it has once more change into a platform that may launch stars. Italian rock band Måneskin, who won in 2021, played major festivals in the US and opened a tour for the Rolling Stones.
Sam Ryder recorded the No. 1 album and performed at the Glastonbury Festival.
“ABBA did it in the 70s, then it went quiet and wasn’t seen as the launch pad it’s now,” said Steve Holden, host of the official Eurovision Song Contest podcast.
“Now the music industry, the world, knows that if you happen to show up at Eurovision, you possibly can expect something great.”