Ukraine won the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 after tallying the points from the jury vote and public phone calls.
British act Sam Ryder was first in the Eurovision Song Contest standings with 283 points after the jury vote. However, the wave of support for Ukraine across Europe saw the country win the competition thanks to viewer votes.
Ukraine had been the bookmaker’s favorite to win, but were in eighth place after the jury vote. The jury vote awarded them 192 points, however, the public vote gave them 492 points, propelling them straight to the top of the leaderboard with 631 points.
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The Ukrainian group Kalush Orchestra had been in the lead since Russia invaded the country in February. Eurovision organizers barred Russia from participating in the contest after the invasion.
The folk rap group collected their trophy and said, “Thank you for supporting Ukraine. This victory is for every Ukrainian. Slava Ukrainiani.
The full Eurovision 2022 results were:
Ukraine – 631
United Kingdom – 466
Spain – 459
Sweden – 438
Serbia – 312
Italy – 268
Moldova – 253
Greece – 215
Portugal – 207
Norway – 182
Netherlands – 171
Poland – 151
Estonia – 141
Lithuania – 128
Australia – 125
Azerbaijan – 106
Switzerland – 78
Romania – 65
Belgium – 64
Armenia – 61
Finland – 38
Czech Republic – 38
Iceland – 20
France – 17
Germany – 6
There was a stark reminder of the situation in the country during the broadcast when Graham Norton pointed out to viewers that the commentator for Ukraine was broadcasting from a bomb shelter.
Although she did not win, Sam Ryder’s second place finish was seen as a turning point in the UK’s entry into the competition. It is the first time in 20 years that the UK has made it into the top three.
BBC presenter Graham Norton said: ‘This is a red letter moment. I am so happy for him, for the UK and for the BBC who have worked so hard to turn our fortunes around. »
(Picture: AP)
The UK entry was in first place after the jury voted. The performance beat Sweden, who placed second with 258 points, and third-placed Spain with 231 points, in the jury voting section of the competition.
The 32-year-old from Essex’s performance of Space Man has been hailed as ‘the best UK entry ever’ by viewers at home. Thousands of people took to social media to say how “proud” they were of him.
The 66th Eurovision Song Contest was held in Turin after Italian Maneskin won the 2021 contest. The glam rock band won 524 points in 2021, although their performance was overshadowed by accusations of drinking dope.
The band returned to the Eurovision scene this year and tackled the issue head-on. Singer Damiano David joked ‘Don’t get too close to the table’, referring to allegations last year after he was seen ducking his head behind a bucket of drinks before taking a drug test to prove his innocence.