Liverpool.- Swedish singer Loreen won the Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday with her power ballad “Tattoo” in a colorful and eclectic music contest that for the second year in a row was overshadowed by the war in Ukraine.
The Stockholm diva topped performances by representatives from 25 other countries to take the continent’s pop crown in Liverpool. Finland’s Käärijä came second in a close battle between the Nordic countries.
Loreen already won the trophy in 2012 and is the second competitor to win the award twice, after Johnny Logan of Ireland in the 1980s.
Britain hosted Eurovision this year on behalf of Ukraine, which won last year but was unable to stage the contest because of the war. Air raid sirens were heard in Ukraine as the festival unfolded.
Under the motto “united by music”, Eurovision fuses the soul of the English port city that gave birth to The Beatles with the spirit of a war-torn Ukraine.
Sights and sounds from Ukraine were present at the show, starting with an opening video of Eurovision 2022 winners Kalush Orchestra singing and dancing on a subway in Kiev, to the tune performed by musicians in the UK, including Kate, Princess of Wales, at the piano.
The folk-rap group took to the Liverpool Arena stage atop a huge pair of outstretched hands, accompanied by a crush of drums.
Contestants from the 26 finalist countries entered the arena in an Olympic-style parade of flags, set to live performances by Ukrainian acts, including Go A, Jamala, Tina Karol and Verka Serduchka, all former Eurovision contestants.
Now in its 67th year, Eurovision bills itself as the world’s biggest music contest, a pop party. The competitors had three minutes each to fuse catchy melodies with colorful shows to win the hearts of millions of viewers.
Loreen had been the favorite and won by far the majority of the professional judges’ votes in the complex Eurovision voting system. She faced stiff competition from Käärijä, who won the public vote. Käärijä exuded energy dressed in a flashy green bolero as he alternated between a metal voice and that of a crooner on the festive anthem “Cha Cha Cha”. The catchy song was one of the most sung by the public at night.
