“Loreen Wins Eurovision Song Contest for Second Time with ‘Tattoo’, Czech Group Vesna Places Tenth”

The singer Loreen won for the first time in 2012, this time she succeeded with the song Tattoo. Photo: Reuters | Video: Eurovision Song Contest

Loreen won for the first time in 2012 with a song Euphoria. According to the AP agency, she became only the second Eurovision participant who managed to repeat the success. Only Irish singer Johnny Logan won twice before her in the 1980s. Thanks to the thirty-nine-year-old star, whose parents come from Morocco, Sweden also caught up with Ireland in the historical tables. Artists from both countries have won Eurovision seven times already.

The tenth place for the Czech Republic is the group Vesna with a song My Sister’s Crown second best. The best so far, sixth, was the singer Mikolas Josef in 2018. Vesna consists of musicians from the Jaroslav Ježek Conservatory in Prague, in addition to three Czechs, there are also a Slovak, a Russian and a Bulgarian.

Last year, the Ukrainian Kalush Orchestra won the competition, so this year, according to the rules, this country was supposed to host Eurovision. But it has been resisting the Russian invasion for 14 months, which is why the final of the 67th year was held in Liverpool, England. The fate of Ukraine resonated here. The opening film showed the Kalush Orchestra singing and dancing in the Kyiv subway, where people normally hide from Russian attacks. Last year’s winners then performed directly at the venue of Eurovision, which this year was held under the slogan “united by music”.

While tens of thousands of people were enjoying themselves in Liverpool and an estimated 160 million on TV screens, Ukraine faced further Russian airstrikes. According to foreign agencies, some were also directed towards the city of Ternopil in the west of the country, where the electronic duo comes from Tvorchi. It represented Ukraine this year, finishing sixth.

An Italian singer was in fourth place among the 26 finalists Marco Mengonithe Norwegian singer finished fifth Alessandra. Representatives of Belgium, Estonia and Australia also made it to the top ten.

The first year of Eurovision took place in May 1956. The most famous winner in history is considered to be the Swedish group ABBA, who broke through in 1974 with a hit Waterloo. Other famous faces who have succeeded in the competition include the Canadian Céline Dion, who represented Switzerland in 1988. The Czech Republic participated for the first time in 2007. Already in 1968, Karel Gott performed in the competition, then called the Eurovision Grand Prix, but as a representative of Austria.

Video: Vesna represents the Czech Republic at Eurovision

“As a band made up of women, we had to learn to overcome obstacles,” said Patricie Kaňok Fuxová from the band Vesna in the Spotlight show. | Video: Jakub Zuzánek