Ukraine_in_the_Eurovision_Song_Contest
Ukraine in the Eurovision Song Contest
Ukraine in the Eurovision Song Contest
Ukraine has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 18 times since making its debut in 2003. Ukraine has won the contest three times: in 2004 with "Wild Dances" by Ruslana, in 2016 with "1944" by Jamala, and in 2022 with "Stefania" by Kalush Orchestra, thus becoming the first country in the 21st century and the first Eastern European country to win the contest three times. Ukraine hosted the 2005 and 2017 contests in Kyiv.
| Ukraine in the Eurovision Song Contest | |
|---|---|
| Participating broadcaster | Suspilne |
| Participation summary | |
| Appearances | 18 (18 finals) |
| First appearance | 2003 |
| Highest placement | 1st: 2004, 2016, 2022 |
| Host | 2005, 2017 |
| Related articles | |
| Vidbir | |
| External links | |
| UA:PBC website | |
Ukraine's page at Eurovision.tv  | |
 For the most recent participation seeUkraine in the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 | |
Since the introduction of the semi-final round in 2004, Ukraine is the only country outside of the "Big Five" to have qualified for the final of every contest they have competed in, and has been placed outside the top-ten only six times.[1] Ukraine has a total of eight top-five placements, with Verka Serduchka (2007) and Ani Lorak (2008) both finishing second, Zlata Ognevich third (2013), Mika Newton fourth (2011) and Go_A fifth (2021), in addition to its wins. The only countries with more top-five results in the 21st century are Sweden (13) and Russia (10).
Ukraine made its debut in 2003, when Oleksandr Ponomariov finished in 14th place with the song "Hasta la vista".
Ukraine won the contest at the second attempt in 2004, when Ruslana won with the song "Wild Dances", defeating second-placed Serbia and Montenegro by 17 points, 280 to 263. Later in the year, she supported the Orange Revolution and became an MP for one year as part of the new president's alliance.
In 2016, Ukraine became the first Eastern European country to win the contest twice, when Jamala won with her song "1944". The televote was won by Russia and the jury vote by Australia; Ukraine was second in both, but won with an overall total of 534 points, with Australia second with 511 points and Russia third with 491 points. In 2017, Ukraine was pre-qualified for the final as hosts, however they achieved their worst result to date – 24th place with 36 points.
Ukraine was absent twice from the contest, in 2015 and 2019, for reasons related to the ongoing conflict with Russia:
- Ukrainian broadcaster NTU sat out the 2015 contest because of financial difficulties in relation to the war in Donbas.[2] However, Ukraine broadcast the contest despite not taking part.[3] NTU pledged to bring Ukraine back to the contest for 2016, which was finalized and announced on 16 September 2015.[4]
- Vidbir, the Ukrainian national selection for the 2019 contest, was won by Maruv with "Siren Song". However, the Ukrainian broadcaster UA:PBC required any potential representative in the contest to sign a contract which would forbid them from performing in Russia. The winner Maruv, as well as runners-up Freedom Jazz, Kazka and Brunettes Shoot Blondes, all refused to sign the contract, leading to Ukraine's withdrawal from the contest on 27 February.[5]
In 2020, Go_A won the national selection Vidbir and was set to represent Ukraine with the song "Solovey", before the contest was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They were instead internally selected to represent the country the following year with the song "Shum", with which they finished in fifth place. After the contest, "Shum" entered the Billboard Global 200 at position 158, becoming the first ever Ukrainian-language song to chart there.[6] Ukraine won the contest for a third time in 2022, with the song "Stefania" performed by Kalush Orchestra. "Stefania" later went on to surpass the peak of "Shum" on the Billboard Global 200, charting at position 85.[7]
Since the introduction of the semi-final round in 2004, Ukraine is the only country to have qualified for the final of every Eurovision they have competed in (they were absent from the 2015 and 2019 contests).[note 1] Ukraine has a total of 12 top-ten placements (among those are eight top-five placements). Ukraine's participation and success in the contest has been acknowledged as a factor in the country's growing soft power and international image.[8] This view is shared by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who has supported the country's continued participation in the event following the Russian invasion as a way to promote the Ukrainian national cause internationally.[9]
The following lists Ukraine's entries in the Eurovision Song Contest along with their result.[10]
| 1 | First place |
| 2 | Second place |
| 3 | Third place |
| X | Entry selected but did not compete |
| † | Upcoming event |
| Year | Artist | Song | Language | Final | Points | Semi | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Olexandr | "Hasta la vista" | English | 14 | 30 | No semi-finals | |
| 2004 | Ruslana | "Wild Dances" | English, Ukrainian | 1 | 280 | 2 | 256 |
| 2005 | GreenJolly | "Razom nas bahato" (Разом нас багато) | Ukrainian, English | 19 | 30 | Host country | |
| 2006 | Tina Karol | "Show Me Your Love" | English | 7 | 145 | 7 | 146 |
| 2007 | Verka Serduchka | "Dancing Lasha Tumbai" | English, German, Surzhyk | 2 | 235 | Top 10 in 2006 final[lower-alpha 1] | |
| 2008 | Ani Lorak | "Shady Lady" | English | 2 | 230 | 1 | 152 |
| 2009 | Svetlana Loboda | "Be My Valentine! (Anti-Crisis Girl)" | English | 12 | 76 | 6 | 80 |
| 2010 | Alyosha | "Sweet People" | English | 10 | 108 | 7 | 77 |
| 2011 | Mika Newton | "Angel" | English | 4 | 159 | 6 | 81 |
| 2012 | Gaitana | "Be My Guest" | English | 15 | 65 | 8 | 64 |
| 2013 | Zlata Ognevich | "Gravity" | English | 3 | 214 | 3 | 140 |
| 2014 | Mariya Yaremchuk | "Tick-Tock" | English | 6 | 113 | 5 | 118 |
| 2016 | Jamala | "1944" | English, Crimean Tatar | 1 | 534 | 2 | 287 |
| 2017 | O.Torvald | "Time" | English | 24 | 36 | Host country | |
| 2018 | Mélovin | "Under the Ladder" | English | 17 | 130 | 6 | 179 |
| 2020 | Go_A | "Solovey" (Соловей) | Ukrainian | Contest cancelled[lower-alpha 2] X | |||
| 2021 | Go_A | "Shum" (Шум) | Ukrainian | 5 | 364 | 2 | 267 |
| 2022 | Kalush Orchestra | "Stefania" (Стефанія) | Ukrainian | 1 | 631 | 1 | 337 |
| 2023 | Tvorchi | "Heart of Steel" | English, Ukrainian | 6 | 243 | Automatically qualified[lower-alpha 3] | |
| 2024 | Alyona Alyona and Jerry Heil | "Teresa & Maria" | Ukrainian, English | Upcoming † | |||
|
|
| Year | Location | Venue | Presenters |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Kyiv | Palace of Sports | Maria Efrosinina and Pavlo Shylko |
| 2017 | International Exhibition Centre | Volodymyr Ostapchuk, Oleksandr Skichko and Timur Miroshnychenko |
Following its victory in 2022, Ukraine was initially given the opportunity to host the 2023 contest, however, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) later decided that the country would not be able to host due to security concerns caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, making Ukraine the first country since Israel in 1979 to win the contest but not host it the following year.[11] The 2022 runner-up, the United Kingdom, hosted the 2023 contest on Ukraine's behalf, and Ukraine was granted automatic qualification for the final.[12]
Marcel Bezençon Awards
| Year | Category | Song | Performer | Final | Points | Host city | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Artistic Award[lower-alpha 4] | "Wild Dances" | Ruslana | 1 | 280 |  Istanbul |
|
| 2007 | Press Award | "Dancing Lasha Tumbai" | Verka Serduchka | 2 | 235 |  Helsinki |
|
| 2008 | Artistic Award[lower-alpha 4] | "Shady Lady" | Ani Lorak | 2 | 230 |  Belgrade |
|
| 2016 | Artistic Award[lower-alpha 5] | "1944" | Jamala | 1 | 534 |  Stockholm |
Barbara Dex Award
| Year | Performer | Host city | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Verka Serduchka | Helsinki |
Heads of delegation
Jury members
A five-member jury panel consisting of music industry professionals is made up for every participating country for the semi-finals and final of the Eurovision Song Contest, ranking all entries except for their own country's contribution. The juries' votes constitute 50% of the overall result alongside televoting.[20]
| Year | 1st member | 2nd member | 3rd member | 4th member | 5th member | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roman Nedzelskiy | Oleksandr Ponomaryov | Irena Zagorodnyuk | Iryna Rozental | Oleksandr Zlotnyk | ||
| Oleksandr Zlotnyk | Kateryna Komar | Kostiantyn Mishukov | Alla Popova | Olena Valovyk | ||
| Oleksandr Ksenofontov | Maria Burmaka | Valentin Koval | Valeria Chachibaya | Andre France | ||
| Yurii Rybchynsky | Illaria | Serhiy Grachov | Yana Pryadko | Serhiy Gagarin | ||
| Vitaliy Klimov | Denys Zhupnyk | Arthur Danielyan | Alla Moskovka | Khrystyna Soloviy | ||
| Oleksandr Ponomaryov | Illaria | Igor Kondratiuk | Alla Moskovka | Alyona Alyona | ||
| Andriy Yatskiv | Andriy Kapral | Iryna Fedyshyn | Lukian Halkin | Vadim Lysycia | ||
| Oleksandr Sydorenko | Svitlana Tarabarova | Antonina Matviyenko | Oleh Sobchuk | Evgeny Khmara |
Commentators and spokespersons
 | This section needs additional citations for verification. (February 2020) |
| Year | NTU/UA:PBC commentator | STB commentator | Radio commentator | Spokesperson | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Pavlo Shylko, Mariya Orlova | No broadcast | No broadcast | Did not participate | |
| 2003 | Pavlo Shylko, Dmytro Kryzhanivskyi | Lyudmyla Hariv | |||
| 2004 | Rodion Pryntsevskyi | Pavlo Shylko | |||
| 2005 | Yaroslav Chornenkyi | Galyna Babiy | Mariya Orlova | ||
| 2006 | Pavlo Shylko | No broadcast | Igor Posypaiko | ||
| 2007 | Timur Miroshnychenko | Kateryna Osadcha | |||
| 2008 | Marysya Horobets | ||||
| 2009 | |||||
| 2010 | Iryna Zhuravska | ||||
| 2011 | Timur Miroshnychenko, Tetiana Terekhova | Olena Zelinchenko | Ruslana | ||
| 2012 | Oleksiy Matias | ||||
| 2013 | |||||
| 2014 | Zlata Ognevich | ||||
| 2015 | No broadcast | Did not participate | |||
| 2016 | Olena Zelinchenko | Verka Serduchka | |||
| 2017 | Tetiana Terekhova, Andrii Horodyskyi | Zlata Ognevich | |||
| 2018 | Timur Miroshnychenko (all shows) Mariya Yaremchuk (semi-final 1) Alyosha (semi-final 2) Jamala (final) |
Serhiy Prytula | Nata Zhyzhchenko | ||
| 2019 | Timur Miroshnychenko | No broadcast | Did not participate | ||
| 2021 | Olena Zelinchenko (UR1) Anna Zakletska, Dmytro Zakharchenko (Radio Promin) |
Tayanna | |||
| 2022 | No broadcast | Timur Miroshnychenko (semi-finals)[lower-alpha 6] Anna Zakletska, Dmytro Zakharchenko (final) |
Kateryna Pavlenko | ||
| 2023 | Oleksandra Franko, Oleksandr Barbelen | Zlata Ognevich | |||
| 2024 | TBA | TBA | Jamala |
Stage directors
Costume designers
|
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Notes
- No country has always participated in the final since the introduction of semi-finals in 2004. Ukraine, despite having always reached the final, did not participate in the 2015 and 2019 contests. Additionally, the 2020 contest was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The "Big Five" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are also not counted in this list since they receive automatic qualification to the final.
- According to the then-Eurovision rules, the top ten non-Big Four countries from the previous year along with the Big Four automatically qualified for the Grand Final without having to compete in semi-finals. For example, if Germany and France placed inside the top ten, the 11th and 12th spots were advanced to next year's Grand Final along with all countries ranked in the top ten.
- The 2020 contest was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Ukraine was unable to host the 2023 contest due to security concerns resulting from the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The United Kingdom, as the second-placing country in the 2022 contest, hosted on Ukraine's behalf, with Ukraine automatically qualifying for the 2023 final as the previous year's winning country.
- Voted by previous winners.
- The semi-finals on Radio Promin featured TV commentary by Miroshnychenko while radio presenters Oleksandra Franko and Yevhen Pavliukovskyi provided studio discussions during TV commercial breaks.[34]
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