TURIN, Italy : Ukraine's Kalush Orchestra won the Eurovision Song Contest in Italy on Saturday with their entry"Stefania", riding a wave of public support to claim an emotional victory.
Sung in Ukrainian, the winning song fused rap with traditional folk music and was a tribute to band frontman Oleh Psiuk's mother. Ukraine were in fourth place based on jury voting but claimed victory with a commanding lead in viewer voting. Britain's Sam Ryder finished second. The bookmakers had made Kalush Orchestra the clear favourite for the annual contest, which normally draws a television audience of close to 200 million, based in part on the plight of Ukraine following Russia's invasion in February.
Psiuk had said this week that he was hoping for a win to"lift the spirits" of his compatriots. It is the third time that Ukraine has won the annual competition.