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Ukraine’s Eurovision favourites reconcile protecting homeland with rehearsals

Ukrainian Eurovision favourites, the Kalush Orchestra, have been trying to reconcile the priority of defending their homeland with the nearing Eurovision finale.

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Based in western Ukraine, lead singer Oleh Psiuk decided to assemble a 20-strong volunteer group, supplying medicines and helping people flee the war. Meanwhile, one of his band members is serving in a Ukrainian territorial defence unit.

Although Oddschecker, a betting aggregate site, has put the group high in the ranking as a favourite to win this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, Mr Psiuk’s are not fixed on celebration.

“I cannot enjoy it while I am worried for my loved ones. The war separated me and my girlfriend. She is 300kms [186 miles] away from me. We cannot meet because it is very dangerous,” he confessed to Reuters. “She sits in a bunker while I am here and air raid sirens are constantly on.”

The lady is not sitting arms folded, quite the contrary, she has been making Molotov cocktails to boost Ukraine’s defensive resources.

“Stefania” — war-ravaged Ukraine’s anthem

Although rehearsing separately, the band members plan to meet soon in Lviv to practise their entry “Stefania” — a song that, according to frontman Psiuk, had become an anthem for Ukrainians during the war.

“No matter under what circumstance we will go to the Eurovision, I will try to be useful for Ukraine. Even if it [war] is all over in the nearest future, it won’t be easy anyway because we will need a lot of time to rebuild. The country is in ruins,” he said.

In #Kharkiv, rescuers continue to put out the fire and dismantle the rubble. pic.twitter.com/s3I4DSMcDt

— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) March 14, 2022

Falling on May 14, the Eurovision final, one of the world’s largest televised events, takes place in Turin, Italy.

Should Kalush Orchestra win, Ukraine will secure the right to host the next edition of the show in 2023. The country has already won Eurovision, in 2016 to be precise, when Crimean Tatar Susana Jamaladinova of Ukraine, known as Jamala, seized first place with a song about former Soviet leader Joseph Stalin’s deportation of hundreds of thousands of people from her homeland posied over the Black Sea. The delivery and the Jamala’s victory had a particular significance to it as it happened two years into Russia’s annexation and occupation of the territory.

Hosting Eurovision in 2017, Ukraine barred Russia from participation. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which started on February 24, 2022, Moscow was once again banned from the 2022 contest.

Statement from @EBU_HQ regarding Russia's participation in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022.https://t.co/HmKJdqVE4J pic.twitter.com/tVH6yFxzbq

— Eurovision Song Contest (@Eurovision) February 25, 2022

But for Mr Psiuk, Kalush Orchestra’s principal goal in Eurovision is to spread awareness.

“If you think it will not happen to your country, there are no guarantees for that,” he said referring to Russia’s aggression. “We also thought that it would not happen to us. That is why let’s stop it as soon as possible.”

“We want peace to finally come to Ukraine,” he said.

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