Sweden won the Eurovision Song Contest early yesterday, as singer Loreen beat out 25 competitors in the finale of the world’s biggest live music event, hosted by the UK on behalf of Ukraine.
A previous victor in 2012, Loreen is the first woman to win the eccentric, much-loved competition twice and only the second person to do so after Johnny Logan won for Ireland in the 1980s.
It is a record-equaling seventh Eurovision crown for Sweden, and means the Scandinavian nation is to host next year’s contest on the 50th anniversary of ABBA’s win — the country’s first — with breakthrough hit Waterloo.
Photo: AFP
Loreen, whose real name is Lorine Talhaoui, told reporters that her victory with dance-pop track, Tattoo, felt “surreal” and “so beautiful,” and had left her “seriously overwhelmed.”
Born in Sweden to parents of Moroccan Berber origin, the 39-year-old’s win for Sweden over 25 other countries competing in the final was celebrated in her homeland.
“It feels wonderful,” she said.
Photo: Reuters
She narrowly triumphed over Finland’s Kaarija after the public and jury votes were combined following an evening of typically eclectic musical acts in Liverpool. Third place went to Israel, with Noa Kirel’s Unicorn, as more than 160 million estimated viewers watched on televisions around the world.
Last year’s runner-up, the UK, selected Liverpool — home of The Beatles — to stage the Europop music festival after organizers ruled it was impossible for victors Ukraine to do so amid Russia’s invasion.
However, the UK sought to keep Ukraine front and center throughout the contest. Central Liverpool was awash in the yellow and blue of the country’s flag, while displaced Ukrainians were among the 6,000 fans packed into the M&S Bank Arena host venue.
“It feels like I’m home,” said Vasylyna Kindrat, who fled Lviv in December last year, as she headed into the waterfront arena.
The 25-year-old added that she was hoping for victory not in Eurovision “but for the war.”
Earlier, British spectators echoed the sentiment.
“We’re supporting Ukraine, our heart is bleeding for them,” said Jenny Birchett, 70, a theater worker dressed in Ukrainian colors.
“We feel it’s theirs, the Eurovision, more than ours,” she added.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak lauded the “fantastic celebration” shortly after Loreen’s win.
“Liverpool, you’ve done the United Kingdom and Ukraine proud,” Sunak said.
Although there was the usual riot of color, camp and unbridled joy, several of the contest’s songs evoked the Ukraine war.
Switzerland’s young singer Remo Forrer conveyed a message of peace with his track Watergun, while Croatia’s extravagantly moustachioed Let 3 performed Mama SC, seen as a veiled attack on Russian President Vladimir Putin and “human stupidity.”
Politics preceded the finale, with a row erupting on Friday over a proposed appearance by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
For fear of politicizing the event, the European Broadcasting Union refused an invitation for Zelenskiy to send a message. That came despite Russia being barred from participating and the overtly political message of some songs, prompting criticism from the British government.
DITCH TACTICS: Kenyan officers were on their way to rescue Haitian police stuck in a ditch suspected to have been deliberately dug by Haitian gang members A Kenyan policeman deployed in Haiti has gone missing after violent gangs attacked a group of officers on a rescue mission, a UN-backed multinational security mission said in a statement yesterday. The Kenyan officers on Tuesday were on their way to rescue Haitian police stuck in a ditch “suspected to have been deliberately dug by gangs,” the statement said, adding that “specialized teams have been deployed” to search for the missing officer. Local media outlets in Haiti reported that the officer had been killed and videos of a lifeless man clothed in Kenyan uniform were shared on social media. Gang violence has left
US Vice President J.D. Vance on Friday accused Denmark of not having done enough to protect Greenland, when he visited the strategically placed and resource-rich Danish territory coveted by US President Donald Trump. Vance made his comment during a trip to the Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland, a visit viewed by Copenhagen and Nuuk as a provocation. “Our message to Denmark is very simple: You have not done a good job by the people of Greenland,” Vance told a news conference. “You have under-invested in the people of Greenland, and you have under-invested in the security architecture of this
A fire caused by a burst gas pipe yesterday spread to several homes and sent a fireball soaring into the sky outside Malaysia’s largest city, injuring more than 100 people. The towering inferno near a gas station in Putra Heights outside Kuala Lumpur was visible for kilometers and lasted for several hours. It happened during a public holiday as Muslims, who are the majority in Malaysia, celebrate the second day of Eid al-Fitr. National oil company Petronas said the fire started at one of its gas pipelines at 8:10am and the affected pipeline was later isolated. Disaster management officials said shutting the
Japan unveiled a plan on Thursday to evacuate around 120,000 residents and tourists from its southern islets near Taiwan within six days in the event of an “emergency”. The plan was put together as “the security situation surrounding our nation grows severe” and with an “emergency” in mind, the government’s crisis management office said. Exactly what that emergency might be was left unspecified in the plan but it envisages the evacuation of around 120,000 people in five Japanese islets close to Taiwan. China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has stepped up military pressure in recent years, including
RSS