Rewatching the Eurovision Flag Parade and it is honestly baffling to me that iconic Ukrainian artists like Go_A, Tina Karol, Jamala and Verka Serduchka got barely 30 seconds of screen-time each (if that) while there was literally a twelve minute performance during the interval dedicated solely to British music. Sam Ryder even got a better performance slot than Kalush Orchestra who actually won last year...
Having been to Liverpool and attended Semi-Final One I do think there has been a good balance of British/Ukrainian music and culture overall this year, but that completely went out the window in yesterday’s final. The Ukrainian artists really should have been the interval acts instead 😕
Italy, Sweden, and Ukraine are the only three nations that appear twice on the list of contestants who've earned over 400 points at Eurovision.
Italy breached 400 with Mahmood's "Soldi" in 2019 and in 2021 with Måneskin's "Zitti e Buoni."
Sweden got their high scores two years in a row, first with Cornelia Jakobs' "Hold me Closer" in 2022, and next with Loreen's "Tattoo."
Ukraine was one of the first nations to break into the 400-point range with Jamala and her song "1944" in 2016. The next record-breaker was 2022's Kalush Orchestra and their song "Stefania."
[Source]
'The '400 Club': Counting down Eurovision's all-time top scorers,' Eurovision.tv.
2004, 2007, 2008 - Rigged. Ruslana, Marija Serifovic and Dima Bilan all won because of Eastern European bloc voting
2005 - Rigged. Helena Paparizou won because of Balkan bloc voting
2006 - Lordi shouldn't win because they promote Satan worship through their music
2014 - Rigged. Conchita Wurst won because of LGBT voting / they're trying to force it down our throats
2015 - Måns shouldn't win because he's homophobic / Heroes shouldn't win because it's a copy of Descendants of the Sun (correct me if I'm wrong on this one; people were definitely saying that it was too derivative of a popular song at the time, I don't remember if that was its name)
2016 - Rigged. Jamala's win was political
2017 - Rigged. Salvador Sobral won because of his heart condition
2018 - Netta won because she was a joke entry. The contest is of poor quality / She is promoting overweight body types as the new standard (I'm not even joking, people actually said that)
2021 - Måneskin should be stripped of their title as champions because Damiano did cocaine
2022 - Rigged. Kalush Orchestra won because of the war
2023 - Rigged. Loreen won due to Sweden celebrating 50 years from their first win next year.
Can you STOP and take a moment to realize how ridiculous you all sound?
And yes, these are all things people actually said at the time, in case you don't remember or forget easily (or out of convenience)
Day 2 of Demanding the EBU Remove ISR from Eurovision 2024
Let Eurovision’s own history educate us and our decisions to make the right choices now and in the future.
Remember!! If you live in an ESC-participating country, TALK TO YOUR BROADCASTERS! Write a letter, an email, make a phone call, anything! Make it known that you do not want your country participating in a contest that allows an apartheid state to compete!!!
Two of the hosts of Vibdir this year are Eurovision alumni. Jamala, winner of the 2016 contest, and Andrii Danylko, otherwise known as Verka Serduchka, who placed second, were voted by the Ukrainian public to host the contest.
The third host, while not a Eurovision participant, is an acclaimed performer. Serhiy Tanchynets is the frontman of the rock band BEZ OBMEZHEN.
[Sources]
"What to look forward to at Ukraine's 'Vidbir'," Eurovision.tv.
Participants of Helsinki 2007: Verka Serduchka, Eurovision.tv.