Main points
- LELÉKA will represent Ukraine at Eurovision with the song Ridnym, the performance was directed by Ilya Dutsyk.
- Galyna Pekha joined the work on the number, the production will include special effects and props.
LELÉKA, Ilya Dutsyk / Collage of Channel 24
The 70th Eurovision Song Contest will soon take place in Vienna. Ukraine will be represented by singer LELÉKA with the song Ridnym, and her performance will be directed by Ilya Dutsyk.
LELÉKA announced this on her Instagram page.
Ilya Dutsyk is a representative of the new wave of Ukrainian music video makers. He has worked with Ziferblat, Oi FUSK, “Heitspich”, Volodymyr Dantes, Brykulets, Katarina Gryvul and other artists. In addition, the director has experience in documentary filmmaking.
It was important for me to find someone who would feel this song the same way I do. Ilya and I quickly found a common language – and the number you will see was born from trust and a very honest feeling of what these lines are about. We have complete creative synergy,
– LELÉKA commented on the cooperation with Dutsyk.
In 2025, Ilya created a number for the band Ziferblat for the National Selection. Working on the number LELÉKA is the director's debut at Eurovision itself.
We developed a harmonious interaction – from the first dialogue to a deep understanding of the performance. This is a story about the path of the individual, about the multi-layeredness of internal states and the constant movement towards oneself. I hope we managed to create a performance that is honest, vulnerable and at the same time strong – one that resonates on internal levels,
– he says.
By the way! Recently, in an interview with Slava Demin, People's Artist Natalia Bachynka admitted that she would like LAUD, not LELÉKA, to represent Ukraine at Eurovision 2026.
Galyna Pekha, an author of educational programs, movement researcher, and choreographer of plays and performances, also joined the work on the LELÉKA number.
An incredible choreographer-producer who immediately found my most subtle facets of movement, through which the inner state and emotional message of the song are revealed,
– admitted the representative of Ukraine at Eurovision-2026.
The team is not revealing production details at this time, but it is known that there will be special effects and props.
The main thing about Eurovision 2026
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The 70th anniversary song contest will take place at Austria's largest indoor arena, the Wiener Stadthalle. The semi-finals are scheduled for May 12 and 14, and the grand final is scheduled for May 16.
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35 countries will participate in Eurovision 2026. Five countries boycotted the contest due to Israel's admission: Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland, Slovenia and Iceland.
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LELÉKA will compete in the second semi-final on May 14 at number 12. Bookmakers are currently predicting her 10th place.
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Eurovision will be available to watch on all platforms of Suspilny. Timur Miroshnychenko will traditionally commentate on the competition. He will be joined by Vasyl Baydak in the first semi-final, Svitlana Tarabarova in the second, and alyona alyona in the grand final.
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Daniil Leszczynskiy from the band Ziferblat will be Ukraine's spokesperson. The singer will announce the national jury's scores during the grand final.