Unsurprisingly, it was Ukraine with the folk-rap group Kalush Orchestra that won 1st place at the 66th edition of Eurovision in Turin. The French song (in Breton) 'Fulenn' by the group Alvan & Ahez finished in second to last place...

In the geopolitical context marked by the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, Kalush Orchestra, the group representing Ukraine was the big favorite of the 66th edition of Eurovision. It is therefore no great surprise that its members have largely won the European song contest thanks to their song Stefania, before the United Kingdom, Sweden and Spain, Sweden and Spain.

Check out Kalush Orchestra's reaction to winning #Eurovision ! #ESC2022 pic.twitter.com/IBR9uNWmlV

— Eurovision Song Contest (@Eurovision) May 14, 2022

Victory for Ukraine at the 66th Eurovision Song Contest

#Eurovision The victory of Ukraine, cry from the heart of the European people

Ukraine will win and no one will lose. It will be a historic moment, predicted the journalist @martacagnola before the final. His prediction came true.

https://t.co/eWVqQpjqlv pic.twitter.com/RccF2H234m

— Fabien Randanne (@fabrandanne) May 15, 2022

Congratulations to Ukraine for winning Eurovision!! A strong gesture from European citizens!! #SlavaUkraine #Eurovision2022 #EUROVISION pic.twitter.com/d2HVTwvRsq

— Ghali (@Ghalitnj) May 14, 2022

But it was not the professionals, who had ranked them in 4th place, who allowed them to win the day, but the public. European viewers awarded them 439 points, which is a Eurovision record. , which allowed them to arrive at a total of 631 points.

Ukraine still got 439 points from the public out of a possible maximum of 480. That's something. #eurovision https://t.co/N57acNOUdm

– Rachel Garrat-Valcarcel (@Ra_GarVal) May 14, 2022

During the presentation of the trophy, the singer of the group Kalush Orchestra launched an appeal to world leaders. ' Please help Ukraine. Help Azovstal' , shouted Oleh Psiuk, whose victory and that of his comrades was hailed in the night by Volodymyr Zelensky. ' Our courage impresses the world, our music conquers Europe! Next year, Ukraine will host Eurovision. This will be the third time in history, and hopefully not the last. We will do our best to host the competition one day in Mariupol, in a free, peaceful and liberated city.' , writes the Ukrainian president.

The Ukrainians got ahead of the British and the Spaniards who did what they could in the face of the expected yellow and blue wave. Representing France, the group Alvan and Ahez, programmed at the beginning of the evening, did not deserve it with the title 'Fulenn'. But he only got 9 points awarded by the jury and 8 points by the public. France therefore finished second to last in the standings, just ahead of Germany, which is their worst score since 2015.

Nobody is sleeping: everyone is shocked by France's score at the #Eurovision .

— Axel (@hairysistible) May 15, 2022

this score from France takes us back a few years #Eurovision pic.twitter.com/877SH5iPBB

— Clément Giuliano (@clemgiu) May 14, 2022

How sad France... I wasn't necessarily expecting an incredible score but such a big thrashing... #Eurovision

— Quentin (@JKDZ29) May 14, 2022

It is therefore not yet this year that France will have won the victory, 45 years after that of Marie Myriam. The interpreter of The Bird And The Child don't lose hope though! The winner of l'Eurovision in 1977 remembered the time of her participation, with South West : ' Forty-five years ago, the means were different, it was a little more fixed. I won in England and the English didn't like the French very much in the contest. They were a little stuck, the applause had been timid. It was still the disco wave and I landed with this song that had nothing to do '.

After his victory, his life became a real ' madness '.' I spent my time on airplanes, eating horrible meal trays , little sleep and run studios, shows and stages. I remember being passed out after performing Love rises, I was exhausted “, she added.

Scandal in Macedonia

Andrea Koevska, 22, who represented North Macedonia with her song Circle , a  controversial in his country. The reason? During the opening ceremony of Eurovision on May 8, the singer threw the Macedonian flag on the ground , which cluttered it, for a photo shoot on the red carpet. A seemingly innocuous gesture … but which provoked anger in the country. ' With this gesture, she disrespected a national symbol, which is punishable by law ' , the Macedonian channel MPT protested.

The public television channel asked the candidate that she ' apologize to the people ' and even said that it was possible that she was simply excluded from the competition . ' All legal means will be taken against those responsible for this scandal within the delegation. “, we read in a press release from the chain.

She threw the flag so that the press could take photos. MRT is REACHING with their statement threatening to withdraw Andrea. #Eurovision pic.twitter.com/9PvCpBgUHa

— Davin (@des__cribe) May 8, 2022

More Andrea Koevska will finally be able to participate in Eurovision . The scandal was appeased when, a few hours later, she appeared, flag in hand, in front of the cameras of the television channel, to apologize. ' I had no intention of offending my nation “, she said, specifying that she had only acceded to the requests of the photographers, who had asked her to pose without her flag.

Russia, excluded from Eurovision

This year Russia and its ally Belarus have been excluded from the competition due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine orchestrated by Vladimir Putin. In addition, the country will not be able to vote for the other participants and is therefore ' excluded from the whole event “, as indicated in a press release from the European Broadcasting Union.

Who represents Ukraine at Eurovision 2022?

This year, Ukraine was represented at Turin by the group Kalush Orchestra with his song Stefania . Already, they had pulled out of the game to rise among the favorites of the competition. The rap group, made up of six members (Oleh Psiuk, Ihor Didenchuk, MC Kilimmen, Tymofii Muzychuk, Oleksandr Slobodianyk and Vitalii Duzhyk), benefited from a permission from President Volodymyr Zelensky to leave Ukrainian territory and travel to Turin, venue for the Eurovision Song Contest, from May 10-14.

In Ukraine, from presets took place to decide who would represent Ukraine in the competition this year. But the group Kalush Orchestra had not been given a winner! She's the singer Alina Pash who had won the preselections, thus becoming the Ukrainian face of the competition. But controversies related to her trips to Crimea had sparked controversy... and Alina Pash had to withdraw from the competition, to give way to Kalush Orchestra , which had been classified as second position of presets . A bad for a good?

Alvan & Ahez, face a 'total fiasco'

On April 7, the French group Alvan & Ahez  experienced a slight hiccup on the stage of Israel Calling, an event organized each year a month before Eurovision. ' This evening fiasco total ', wrote Alvan, on his Instagram account. While the Breton group was to perform on stage, they realized that their ukulele had been forgotten ... ' So, it goes into improvisation. Luckily the audience was on fire (on fire, editor's note)', we read in the story Instagram of the singer.

All about the piece of France at Eurovision 2022

This year, it's the group Alvan & Ahez who represented France in Turin with their song Foul , interpreted entirely in Breton. For the show Eurovision France, You decide , which made it possible to choose the piece that will be sung by the French at the 2022 edition, twelve songs were in competition, but that's the title of the Breton group which had collected the votes of the jury as well as that of the viewers.

The song Foul , which means ' spark ' and ' young lady ', is a anthem' feminist ' and to an ode to ' women's freedom ', according France 3 Brittany . It's here second time that the French song at Eurovision is in Breton . In 1996, Dan Ar Braz and L'Héritage des Celtes sang Diwanit Bugle in Oslo, Norway. She had been ranked in 19 ^and position on 23.

What is the date of the Eurovision Song Contest 2022?

The Eurovision Song Contest took place from Tuesday May 10 to Saturday May 14, 2022 . This is the 66 ^and edition of the competition.

Where did the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 take place?

After rock band Måneskin won in 2021, the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 took place at PalaOlimpico in Turin, in Italy . This is the third time the country has hosted the competition, after the 1965 and 1991 editions.

Estelle Denis: why she is disappointed with the choice of the song

Estelle Denis had she expressed her disappointment with the song chosen to represent France at Eurovision … sung in Breton . In his show Estelle Noon , the columnist Pierre Rondeau had lamented: ' Admittedly, it's not written anywhere in the rules, there's no obligation to sing in such and such a language, but I remembered that we defended the French language and especially the Francophonie . (...) The language of France is French '. And Estelle Denis nods: ' But yes ! (...) We just have to do the Localvision ! Or the Regiovision! '.

Source journaldesfemmes.fr