EUROVISION 2023. After the victory of Ukraine, the question of the country which will host the competition in 2023 raises questions. What we know.
[Updated May 16, 2022 at 2:55 p.m.] The last edition of Eurovision ended with the victory of Kalush Orchestra, representatives of Ukraine, on May 14, 2022. A coronation that raises the question of the organization of the next edition of the competition. Custom dictates that the winning country organizes the event the following year. But Ukraine is still at war with Russia and has suffered heavy human and material losses. On his social network Telegram, Volodymyr Zelenski assured that “Ukraine will host Eurovision next year. It will be the third time in history, and I hope not the last. We will do everything possible to host the competition, one day, in Mariupol, in a free, peaceful and liberated city!”
If Ukraine cannot organize Eurovision in 2023, other countries could take over. Sweden has already announced that it would be interested in this prospect. The Big Five countries, ie France, Italy, Spain, Germany and the United Kingdom could also propose themselves as the main financial contributors to the event. For the moment, the EBU has not commented on the organization of the 67th edition of the international singing competition. We also do not know the precise date of the 2023 edition of the competition, but it should take place in May, as is usually the case.
On Saturday May 14, 2022, Ukraine was crowned winner of Eurovision 2022. The country represented by the rap group Kalush Orchestra has benefited from significant public mobilization since its invasion by Vladimir Putin’s troops. This victory was expected by the bookmakers. In total, the song “Stefania” ranked at the top of the chart with 631 points.
Kalush Orchestra, a Ukrainian rap group (three members) formed in 2019 and performed the song “Stefania” during the Eurovision final on May 14, 2022. In parallel, the group released two albums during the year 2021: Hotin and Yo-yo. What is “Stefania”, the title that the Ukrainian group Kalush Orchestra performed in Turin and won at Eurovision 2022, about? With NME, Oleh Psiuk specifies that this title is a tribute to his mother. But because of the colorful lyrics, it took on a whole new meaning as Ukrainian audiences associate the mother in question with their country at war. After the singing competition, the members of the group will return to their countries to join the forces fighting against Russia. One of them stayed in Kyiv to defend the Ukrainian capital.
On March 5, 2022, it was in the tele-hook “Eurovision France: it’s you who decide” on France 2 that the French candidate was appointed ahead of Eurovision 2022. It’s the Alvan group
Russia is not participating in Eurovision in 2022. The organizers have decided to sanction the country for the invasion of Ukraine by dismissing the Russian candidate from the international singing competition, but also preventing the country led by Vladimir Putin from vote. “In the context of the unprecedented crisis unfolding today in Ukraine, there were fears that a Russian participation this year would bring discredit to the Competition. Before taking its decision, the EBU took the time to carry out a broad consultation with its members”, specified a press release from the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), organizer of the event, on February 25, 2022.
Since its creation in 1956, France has won the Eurovision Song Contest five times: in 1958, 1960, 1962, 1969 and 1977. Our country is therefore just behind Ireland, which holds the record with seven victories. In 1958, singer André Claveau won France’s first victory with the title Dors, mon amour. Two years later, in 1960, the artist Jacqueline Boyer was unanimous with the song Tom Pillibi. In 1962, Isabelle Aubret won Eurovision with the song Un premier amour. Then in 1969, it was Frida Boccara who won the Eurovision Song Contest with the title Un jour, un enfant. Finally, in 1977, the singer Marie Myriam was the last to win by performing The Bird and the Child, a title that has become cult over time for the public.
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