Eurovision 2022: Ukraine's Kalush Orchestra wins the contest, UK's Sam Ryder comes second

After giving away their powerful performance and winning the audience's hearts, the Ukrainian band Kalush Orchestra bagged the winning trophy at Eurovision 2022. The band made everyone fall in love with their song Stefania at the song contest. UK's Sam Ryder finished the contest in second place.

The Eurovision Song Contest's finale took place on May 14, 2022, and saw Ukrainian band Kalush Orchestra raising the winning trophy. The orchestra won hearts at the concert as they were showered with a huge number of votes during the finale. As per The Sun, the band's victory came after they performed at the finale of the Eurovision Song Contest and the bookmakers voted for them to win from the outset. 

Amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, the band's frontman Oleh Psiuk addressed the audience of 7,500 and asked them to help their homeland. He said, "I ask all of you, please help Ukraine, Mariupol. Help Avostal, right now." The band also received a standing ovation from many after their performance which was telecasted on global television. 

On the other hand, UK's Sam Ryder came second in the contest. He took the stage to perform his pop song Space Man. Fans could not help but praise Ryder for bringing back the glory to his country and "achieving the impossible." Ryder's second position at the contest came out to be the best result since 1998 for the UK when one of its contestants ended up as the first runner-up.

More about Kalush Orchestra's Stefania

Kalush Orchestra's song Stefania took the internet by storm amid the Russia-Ukraine war. The song became one of the most viewed tracks on YouTube among the 35 national entries that made their way to Eurovision 2022. As per a report by NME, the frontman of the band, Oleh Psiuk, earlier this week, reacted to the band's achievement and mentioned how he composed and dedicated Stefania to his mother and added that the track acquired lots of nuances as many people were perceiving as if their homeland is their mother amid the war.

He also mentioned how it was important for the band to represent their country at the contests and said, "To represent Ukraine in the international arena is always a responsibility, but to represent it during the war is just the highest responsibility possible. The song was composed and dedicated to my mother, but after the war the song has acquired lots of nuances because a lot of people are perceiving it as if Ukraine is my mother. That’s why the song has become so close to the Ukrainian people, and it is in the Ukrainian hearts."

Image: Instagram/@eurovision