Eurovision final – as it happened: Ukraine wins with Kalush Orchestra’s song Stefania
Ukraine hip-hop group triumphs, while singer-songwriter Sam Ryder does the UK proud
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Your support makes all the difference.The Eurovision 2022 final proved to be one of the liveliest and most competitive in recent memory.
While the atmosphere was still good-humoured, the sheer quality of the 25 countries competing this year presented voters with some tough decisions.
Ultimately, though, favourites Ukraine and their entry Kalush Orchestra were crowned the winners, leaving many to wonder if the country will be able to host the contest in 2023.
Sam Ryder, a singer-songwriter who rose to fame on TikTok, performed original song “Space Man” and – despite previous dismal efforts from the UK – won over much of the audience, and the jury too, to come second place.
“It’s been phenomenal,” he told The Independent of the support he’s received. “The whole team have been working so hard going around Europe, using as much time as we could to do TV, radio, singing on street corners… Everywhere we’ve been, there’s been nothing but kindness and good vibes.”
A trio of famous presenters led proceedings for the evening, with pop singer Mika joining fellow hosts Italian TV personality Alessandro Cattelan and Italian singer Laura Pausini on stage.
The liveblog is now closed.
And here are our finalists!
Take a look at the running order while you’re admiring everyone’s costumes:
Here’s the running order for the Eurovision 2022 final
It’s time to start planning the Eurovision festivities
A reminder: You can decide who wins Eurovision 2022!
UK fans can’t vote for Sam Ryder, but they can vote for their other favourite Eurovision contestants!
Here’s how to do it:
How to vote for your favourite contestants at Eurovision 2022
There are a number of ways to cast your vote on the night.
Czech Republic gets things off to a strong start
What an amazing performance from Czech Republic’s We Are Domi and their song “Lights Off”! It’s not easy going first but they just proved you can do it and still offer a fantastic show.
Romania’s WRS goes next with “Llámame"
I absolutely love this guy! The Buzău-born artist started out as a dancer before going on to perform with a number of Romanian pop stars. Clearly he’s also capable of handling the stage perfectly well on his own...
Portugal performs the moody, introspective “Saudade, Saudade"
Calming things down a bit is Portugal’s entry MARO with the ethereal “Saudade, Saudade”. I can’t see it doing particularly well on the leaderboard but it’s creating a lull before what’s coming up next...
It’s The Rasmus for Finland with ‘JEZEBEEEEEEEEL'
“JEZEBEEEEEEEEEL...”
It’s Finnish rock stars The Rasmus with “Jezebel”
Fans were delighted when the group behind 2003 hit “In the Shadows” returned with their song “Jezebel”, which frontman Lauri Ylönen describes as “an homage, a tribute, to the strong women of today, who own their bodies, who are in charge of their sensuality, their sexuality, and who are determined to be an equal”.
He co-wrote the track with Desmond Child, who has several high-profile rock songwriting credits to his name, including Joan Jett’s “I Hate Myself for Loving You”, Aerosmith’s “Angel”, Alice Cooper’s “Poison”, Ricky Martin’s “Livin’ la Vida Loca”, and Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ On a Prayer”.
Marius Bear’s ballad is certainly on the tamer side of things...
Next up is Marius Bear representing Switzerland!
The singer’s ballad, while certainly emotional, is most definitely on the tamer side of tonight’s performances – especially given the wild Finland perofmrance that preceded it...
Viewers react to Norway’s performance
The Eurovision Grand Final is upon us – and the “strange” performances have begun.
This year’s event is being hosted by Italy after Italian rock band Maneskin won the 2021 competition. Twenty-six artists have flocked to Turin to represent their countries in the grand final.
Fans were left “disturbed” by Finland’s entry.
Finnish rock band The Rasmus – behind the 2003 hit song “In the Shadows” – performed their song “Jezebel”.
Viewers took to Twitter to share their reactions to the song.
Eurovision Fans enthralled by Finland’s ‘Pennywise’-inspired performance
‘Well that was deeply disturbing, wasn’t it?’ wrote one viewer
Italy’s Mahmood and Blanco perform ‘Brividi'
This song, the title of which means “Chills”, is performed entirely in Italian. If you’re interested in what the lyrics mean (they’re very poetic), you can check out both the Italian and English versions below:
What the lyrics to Mahmood and Blanco’s song ‘Brividi’ mean in English
Italian duo are among the top favourites to win this year
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