Main points
- Eurovision Director Martin Österdal stated that Kalush Orchestra's victory in the contest was due to the quality of the song, not the political context.
- By the way, the Kalush Orchestra band sold its cup for the Armed Forces of Ukraine for $900,000, and Eurovision promised to give the band another cup.
Kalush Orchestra and Martin Österdahl / Photo by Suspilny, Anastasia Mantach, Artem Galkin and Martin Österdahl from Instagram / Collage of Channel 24
Swedish producer Martin Österdahl, who served as Eurovision's executive director from 2020 to 2025, commented on the victory of the Kalush Orchestra band at the 2022 Song Contest.
He responded to accusations from critics who claimed that Ukraine's victory was “politicized,” Martin Österdal said in an interview with Der Standard.
Thus, according to the former Eurovision director, the decision of the jury and the audience was determined by the song, not the political context.
Ukraine won because it was a great song. It's that simple. We're hosting one of the biggest contests in the world, so we can never be completely detached from what's going on in the world. But our audience is smart enough to understand the difference between a broadcaster participating in the contest and the government of a country,
– said Martin Österdahl.
Kalush Orchestra – Stefania: watch the video online
By the way, Kalush Orchestra sold its cup for the Armed Forces of Ukraine and raised $900,000. This was announced on the band's Instagram. The new owner of the award was the Ukrainian cryptocurrency exchange WhiteBIT. After that, the Eurovision organizers promised to give the band another cup.
How did Kalush Orchestra represent Ukraine at Eurovision 2022?
- Eurovision 2022 was held in Turin, Italy.
- In the final of the competition, the Ukrainian band performed at number 12 with the song Stefania.
I ask each of you, please help Ukrainian Mariupol, help Azovstal right now,
– Oleg Psyuk called from the Eurovision stage.
- According to the results of the audience vote and the professional jury, Ukraine received 631 points, ahead of Great Britain (466) and Spain (459). The country received the highest marks – 12 points – from the national juries of Poland, Moldova, Latvia, Romania and Lithuania.