The 66th Eurovision Song Contest was held at the PalaOlimpico in Turin, after Måneskin’s success for Italy the previous year.
Kalush Orchestra were triumphant with their song Stefania; an ode to a mother, which became the first Eurovision winning song to feature a rap.
When it came to the televote, Europe (and Australia) delivered a clear message: the general public got behind Ukraine in overwhelming numbers, bulldozing the scoreboard with a total of 439 points – an incredible achievement given the maximum haul possible is 468 (which would require ‘douze points’ from all of the other 39 participating countries).
At the press conference after their victory, Kalush Orchestra shared a message of gratitude, thanking voters across Europe who had awarded their song the record-breaking tally of points, as well as the juries who had voted in their favour, too.
‘We want to thank everyone out there who voted for Ukraine. The victory is very important to Ukraine, especially this year. For us, this support is even more important for Ukraine in these times. And we really appreciate that you helped us with your votes.’
The Grand Final also provided the best results in a long, long time for two of the Big 5.
The United Kingdom’s Sam Ryder came second overall as SPACE MAN was awarded 466 points overall, and won the jury vote. This is the UK’s highest score in the Contest, and their highest placing since Imaani also finished as runner-up with Where Are You? in 1998.
Spain also celebrated as Chanel’s SloMo took the third podium spot and their best result since 1995.
Turin - Italy's third Eurovision Host City
Following a hugely competitive selection process that saw 17 individual bids, the honour of hosting the 66th Eurovision Song Contest has been won by Turin.
The capital of Piedmont will be the third Italian city to host the event after Naples (1965) and Rome (1991), thanks to Måneskin’s magnificent victory in Rotterdam the previous year.
Eurovision Song Contest Executive Supervisor Martin Österdahl had this to say:
'Turin is the perfect Host City for the 66th Eurovision Song Contest.
As we saw during the 2006 Winter Olympics, Pala Olimpico exceeds all the requirements needed to stage a global event of this scale and we have been very impressed with the enthusiasm and commitment from the City of Turin who will welcome thousands of fans in May.
This will be the first Eurovision Song Contest to be held in Italy in 30 years and, together with our Host broadcaster Rai, we are determined to make it a special one.'
Where next?
Before the last shreds of confetti had hit the PalaOlimpico stage, thoughts turned to where might host the 2023 Contest - understandably, given the ongoing war in winning country Ukraine since the Russian invasion earlier in the year.
Traditionally, the winning country hosts the following Contest, but this isn’t always possible (as it was the case for the winning broadcasters in 1956, 1959, 1962, 1971, 1973 and 1979), and there are no hard and fast rules dictating who should host in these circumstances.
In June 2022, the European Broadcasting Union released two statements regarding the feasibility of hosting the Eurovision Song Contest in Ukraine, making the decision to host the event in another country.
The Eurovision story continues...