David J. Morris for BuzzFlash: Campy Eurovision Gives Big Morale Boost to Ukraine
(Photo courtesy of EBU/SARAH LOUISE BENNETT)
May 16. 2022
By David J. Morris
Its Eurovision 2022 performance this weekend showcased the country’s culture, creativity and resolve, and Europe responded with a massive vote of support.
In European pop culture, nothing is bigger than the annual Eurovision Song Contest put on by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Now in its 66th year, the event brings together artists selected from 40 countries, 39 from Europe plus Eurovision-crazy Australia. Big name artists like ABBA and Celine Dion (competing for Switzerland) have been introduced to the world through it, along with iconic songs such as Waterloo and Volare.
Winning the championship is also a source of tremendous national pride.
While originally a rather stuffy black-tie affair, it is now often one of the most delightfully cheesy, tongue-in-cheek events you could imagine. This year, for example, along with soulful ballads and Beyonce-style floor shows, Norway’s entry featured performers in yellow, cardboard cut-out looking wolf masks doing a skillful robotic dance while singing that we should, “get that wolf a banana before he eats my grandma.”
In theory, the contest is supposed to be a completely apolitical event…
But sometimes it isn’t.
Cue this year’s contest, taking part against the backdrop of Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine.
According to Vladimir Putin, his actions are justified in part because Ukraine isn’t a real country at all, just a wayward offshoot of Russia, and it has no genuine culture of its own.
In three short minutes last Saturday night, the six members of Ukraine’s Kalush Orchestra demonstrated just how wrong he is.
In a performance viewed by more than 180 million people in Europe and throughout the world, they masterfully combined elements of traditional Ukrainian folk music, clothing and design with first-rate hip hop and break dancing. In doing so, they seemed to epitomize exactly what Ukraine is and what it aspires to be – lovingly aware of their own rich cultural roots, but eager and unafraid to merge it with western innovations. (Click here to see the official YouTube video of their performance. Be forewarned though, once heard, it can be hard to get their haunting melody out of your head.)
Titled, “Stefania,” the song was originally written before the war by frontman Oleh Psiuk as a kind loving tribute to his mother. In the wake of the brutal Russian invasion, however, it has come to symbolize the Ukrainian people’s feelings for their motherland. It also seems to perfectly capture the poignant homesickness that might be felt by a young soldier at the front.
It’s also worth noting that one of the group’s original members chose to stay behind to fight at the front, and, being men of military age, the ones who came had to get special government permission to leave the country.
Given the widespread support for Ukraine in Europe, the offering was always expected to garner a lot of sympathy votes in the contest, but the quality of the music made it easy. Following the votes cast by juries of music industry professionals from the forty countries participating in the contest, Ukraine stood in fourth place out of the 25 finalists, behind leading contenders, the UK, Spain and Sweden.
According to the complex contest voting system, however, an equal number of votes are allocated according to ballots cast by the viewers.
They gave the Ukrainians a total of 439 points, the highest ever in the 66-year history of the contest. This brought the band up to a final tally up to a record 631, for a runaway first-place finish.
The announcement brought down the house in the vast Pala Olimpico Arena in Turin, Italy, with thunderous cheers, applause, and waving of Ukrainian flags…including by a number of their contest rivals.
In fact, the pro-Ukrainian sentiment in the hall was so pronounced that several acts directly expressed their support in their own performances. German’s Malik Harris had PEACE written over a Ukrainian flag on the back of his guitar, while Estonian singer Stefan closed his act saying, "Don't lose your hope for a better tomorrow." The strongest statement came from Iceland’s Systur who proclaimed, "Peace for Ukraine! We love you!" after their performance.
Think this doesn’t matter much?
Think again.
Along with all the guns, missiles and bombs, an all-out psychological war is underway as well.
In this fight, the Kalush Orchestra has just scored a major victory for Ukraine.
On one level, it’s a huge morale boost for the country. As the results came in around 3 am local time on Sunday morning, foreign journalists in Kiev reported that even from their hotel rooms, they could hear the whole city cheering.
The country’s TV coverage and commentary was broadcast from a secret underground bunker to ensure it wasn’t interrupted.
For his part, President Zelenskyy posted on social media, “Our courage impresses the world, our music conquers Europe” and pledged to one day host the finals in Mariupol.
Since the winning country gets to host the next year’s event, who knows, he might even get his chance in 2023.
While Ukrainians were celebrating, how different things must have looked in Moscow. For years, Eurovision has been wildly popular in Russia, and Putin spared no expense when his country hosted the event in 2009 to try to show the world that it was no longer an unsophisticated socialist backwater.
Now, Russia’s entry was barred by the EBU because of the invasion and, in retaliation, the Russian broadcasters VGTRK and Channel One announced that they would suspend their membership in the organization, thus preventing the country from participating in further Eurovisions unless it is resumed.
How many Russians are now sitting in their homes before darkened TV sets thinking something like this:
Come on Vlad! You and your cronies steal our money. You send our sons off to die in a pointless war. Now we can’t even watch our favorite song contest!
Enough already!
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