You have three minutes to persuade. The 26 Eurovision finalists will use all their might on Saturday night to seduce the judges and audience in Liverpool, northern England, which is hosting the competition on behalf of Ukraine.
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At the end of a show that promises to burst with rhinestones and after the panting excitement of the famous counting of points, the successors will be determined by the Ukrainian group Kalush Orchestra, which triumphed last year with “Stefania”, a song that was trending -hop and traditional music.
However, due to the Russian invasion, the 67th edition of the competition will be held in the city of the Beatles.
“While the eyes of the world will be on Liverpool for this weekend’s Eurovision Song Contest, our hearts will go out to the people of Ukraine fighting for their sovereignty and survival,” said Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer.
How difficult it is to define the contours of a flaunted political neutrality while flying the flag of a war-ravaged country is illustrated by the fact that the organizers of the Eurovision Song Contest sparked controversy when they refused to give Ukrainian President Volodymyr Sending a message to Zelenskyy during the final.
The nature of the event “prohibits political or similar statements during the competition,” the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) said in a press release.
The EBU argued that even without a message from Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Saturday night’s final, with the presence of 11 Ukrainian artists on stage, including the Kalush Orchestra, the competition represented a strong tribute to Ukraine.
Video clips aired in the evening show different locations in the country and the blue and yellow colors of the Ukrainian flag should be floating in space en masse.
Like last year, Russia is excluded from the competition.
In several songs, the war appears in the background.
Ukrainian electronic duo Tvorchi’s song “Heart of Steel” was inspired by resistance during a month-long siege of the Azovstal factory and “symbolizes strength and courage,” according to Jeffery Kenny, the band’s lead singer.
The selection of the country’s representatives took place in a shelter in Kiev.
“We saw a lot of Ukrainian flags,” said Andriy Hutsuliak from Tvorchi. “Britain did a great job of bringing Ukraine here,” he told a press conference on Friday, a day before the final.
For Switzerland, the young Swiss singer Remo Forrer launches a serious message of peace with “Watergun”.
At the other end of the spectrum, the moustachioed, extravagant Croatian band Let 3 really rocked the ground with “Mama SC!”. a scathing title that attacks Vladimir Putin in a thinly veiled way. A song that describes the group as “a weapon” against “human stupidity”, “against wars”.
According to the bookmakers, despite the great success, the group’s chances are slim.
Ukraine is in the top 3, followed by two Nordic countries.
Favorite Dates: Sweden is represented by singer Loreen, who previously won in 2012 with ‘Tatoo’, a pompous love song. If she wins, she would be only second, after Irishman Johnny Logan, to win the Eurovision Song Contest twice.
Finland is represented by rapper Käärijä’s frenetic “Cha Cha Cha” and his fluorescent green puffed bolero.
Also in the top flight is France, which hasn’t won since 1977 with Marie Myriam, with Quebec singer La Zarra and her electro disco Evidemment.