Sweden has won this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, with singer Loreen making history as the first woman to win more than once after she first took the crown back in 2012. Her win for dance-pop anthem Tattoo also means Sweden has drawn level with Ireland for the country with the most Eurovision wins – seven apiece. Finland were the runners up with quirky singer Kaarija’s hyper-pop-rap tune Cha Cha Cha being the audience’s favourite. Israel’s entry, sung by Noa Kirel and which featured the most energetic dance routine of the night, came third. The UK’s act, Mae Muller, who sang I Wrote A Song, came a disappointing second to last in the competition. While Ukrainian duo Tvorchi sang their entry, Heart Of Steel, their university home town Ternopil came under fire from Russian missiles. Their entry came sixth on the leaderboard.
The night also had a surprise up its sleeve, with the Princess of Wales giving a pre-recorded piano performance in the opening of the show. Other guest appearances in the show included last year’s Eurovision runner-up Sam Ryder performing Mountain with Queen legend Roger Taylor accompanying him on the drums, Liverpool songstress Sonia, and Abba’s Bjorn Ulvaeus giving advice to future contest winners.
The first time two countries have jointly hosted Eurovision, Liverpool put on the event on behalf of Ukraine because the war-torn nation was unable to do so. Eleven Ukrainian artists performed in the ceremony itself, with Ukrainian motifs and the Ukrainian identity playing a central role throughout the night. However, there was controversy ahead of the competition, after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was banned from making an address at the grand final.
Pros in the field of putting on a Eurovision grand final – it will be the country’s third time on hosting duty in the last 12 years are now preparing for next year’s show, which is set to be held in Sweden.
In more light-hearted fare, Eurovision’s love of novelty acts shone through with some real corkers on offer this year. Austria’s We Need To Talk About Edgar Allen Poe singers Teya and Salena channelling the ghost of the literary great to take a swipe at music streamers. And while not all of the wackier performances saw their ingenuity rewarded on the leaderboard, acts that particularly got the auditorium buzzing included Germany’s pop-metal act Lord Of The Lost singing Blood And Glitter; Australia’s Voyager belting out Promise while rocking out on the bonnet of a vintage Toyota MR2 and Croatia’s Let 3 stripping off to their pants and vests mid-way through Mama SC!
While it may all be over for another year, fans of the world’s most-watched live non-sporting event will already be getting excited over next year’s performance in Sweden.
