With 583 points, Sweden wins the 67th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest on May 14, 2023 in Liverpool, United Kingdom. Tributes to Ukraine, which is still facing the Russian invasion, marked the evening.
This is a feat for Sweden. The country won the big contest Eurovision of the song this May 14 for the seventh time. Sweden equals Ireland in the number of victories in this competition since its existence.
Ultra-favorite data by the bookmakers ahead of the final phase, it was the Swedish singer Loreen, who had already participated in Eurovision in 2012, who won this new prize list with her song Tattoos, a grandiloquent love song. The jury and the public gave him a score of 583 points. Sweden are closely followed by Finland with 526 points, Israel in third and France in 16th place.
The next edition of Eurovision will therefore take place in Sweden, and will mark for the occasion the 50th anniversary of their first victory with Waterloo of the ABBA group, in 1974.
► Interactive timeline: Sweden, “land” of Eurovision victories
An evening under the sign of tributes to Ukraine
During the evening, many tributes were paid to Ukraine. Winner of Eurovision last year, the country was unable to host the competition this year due to the ongoing Russian invasion. ” In a peaceful world, the competition should be held this year in Ukraine “, British Culture Ministers Lucy Frazer and Ukrainian Ministers of Culture Oleksandr Tkachenko said in a joint statement. ” But the barbaric war waged by Vladimir Putin made this impossible. »
A sign of the difficulty of defining the contours of a displayed political neutrality while flying the colors of a country at war, the organizers of Eurovision sparked controversy by refusing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to send a message during of the final. Like last year, Russia is excluded from the competition.
Eleven Ukrainian candidates from previous editions of Eurovision took to the stage to perform different titles. Last year’s winnersKalush Orchestra, returned singer the title which had earned them the victory in 2022, Stefania. A wink also from the crazy character Verka Serduchka who came to ignite the Liverpool scene by reinterpreting his 2007 hit, Dancing Lasha Tumbai.
(with agencies)