Ukraine wins the 66th Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) thanks to audience votes. Germany again takes last place in international competition. This is how the German artist Malik Harris and the German ESC boss react.
4:36 p.m .: After the poor performance of the German candidate Malik Harris, the NDR responsible for the Eurovision Song Contest within the ARD announced changes. “The NDR takes the bad result very seriously. The selection process for the ESC 2023 will look different than that for this year’s ESC,” explained the broadcaster when asked by the “RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland” (RND).
How exactly the candidates for next year are to be selected is not yet clear. “It’s too early for that at the moment,” said a spokeswoman. The German contribution landed in last place in the European song competition on Saturday. In previous years, too, German artists occupied the last places.
Despite the persistently poor performance, the NDR wants to retain responsibility for the preliminary decision. “Responsibility for the German contribution to the Eurovision Song Contest continues to lie with NDR – with the clear goal of achieving a top position,” said the spokeswoman.
1:58 p.m .: Germany came last in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest (ESC). Artist Malik Harris was disappointed, while the German head of the ESC, Alexandra Wolfslast, found words of praise and is “really proud”.
In a press statement immediately after the show, Harris said: “Obviously I’m a little disappointed. But what made me very, very happy in the end was to see Ukraine win. For me, that’s what defines Eurovision in the end. That’s community, that’s peace, that’s bringing the whole of Europe together, celebrating music together,” he said in a press statement immediately after the show.
Words of praise also from the German head of the ESC, Alexandra Wolfslast: “I can only say that I believe that Malik has put on a great performance. Of course we would have hoped for a better result. But I’m really proud that I was able to walk this path with him, and I think our whole team feels the same way, as does NDR,” she said in a press statement immediately after the show. She is “1000 percent convinced” that Malik has “a mega career” ahead of him. “And I’m already proud that I know him, and the placement doesn’t matter at all.”
8:43 p.m .: Despite their record win at the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC), the Ukrainian winning band Kalush Orchestra does not feel like celebrating. “Maybe we will have a big celebration after the war, because the victory is great, winning the ESC is fantastic, but so much is happening right now,” said rapper Oleh Psjuk at an online press conference on Sunday evening. “I mean, people you know are getting killed or fighting in this war or losing their jobs in Ukraine. It’s not really the best basis for a celebration,” continued the musician, who celebrates his 28th birthday on Monday.
3:54 p.m .: The Kalush Orchestra released a new video the day after the ESC triumph. The special feature: The music video was recorded in the towns of Butscha, Irpin, Hostomel and Borodyanka that were destroyed by Russia. The clip shows, among other things, female soldiers who carry children across rubble fields or who are standing in bombed-out high-rise buildings. According to the record company, it was also recorded in Bucha and Irpin, suburbs of Kyiv that were hit particularly hard in the Russian war of aggression.
“We decided to shoot the video in Ukraine to show everyone what Ukraine is like today,” Psyuk explained I want it to be the anthem of our victory.”
According to the Kalush Orchestra, they wanted to wait for the ESC before releasing the video. The video ends with the words: “Stand with Ukraine”.
2:55 p.m .: Not even a day after Germany landed in last place in the ESC final, Dieter Bohlen gave his assessment of the situation. The former DSDS juror, producer and musician is very familiar with the industry. Bohlen explains on Instagram that Ukraine won because it was “the first war Grand Prix”. He honestly shares: “Of course it wasn’t the best number.”
Bohlen also has to say something about the performance of the German candidate Harris Malik. To the song “Rockstar” he says: “Of course it wasn’t the best number, but of course it would have deserved a middle place.” The pop titan also has an explanation ready.
“We’re kind of not that popular. We’ll never get more votes. I think people don’t love the Germans at the moment. I have no idea why,” Bohlen asks. Malik should therefore not let his head hang and just keep going.
11:28 a.m .: Russian hackers tried to paralyze the ESC voting on Saturday evening to prevent Ukraine from winning. But the Italian police were able to prevent the cyber attack. This is reported by the Austrian news agency APA and refers to a press release by the Italian officials.
The press release explains that the attack by the pro-Russian hacker group Killnet was averted. The exact culprits have not yet been identified. However, a possible DDoS attack was announced by Killnet before the ESC. An extra 100 specialists were deployed to prevent this – with success.
To explain: DDoS attacks stands for “Distributed Denial of Service”. A server with a large number of simultaneous requests is paralyzed.
11.11 a.m .: Again Germany could not convince at the Eurovision Song Contest. Despite his maximum commitment, Malik Harris only ended up in last place with the hit ” Rockstars “. Spectators from all over Europe and the jury agreed: This performance was not convincing. While the jury didn’t award a single point, the European audience was a little more benevolent and awarded six points.
Singer Malik Harris can’t explain the bad rating either: “I don’t know the Eurovision laws that well either. I know that Eurovision writes its own laws, which often don’t have that much to do with music. But – and that I also underlined from the beginning – I know that music cannot be judged as good and bad. It’s music. It’s art. It’s a matter of taste. And accordingly you can’t say: “That’s good, that’s bad. Dem I give it so many points because it’s better, and I give it so many points because it’s worse.’” However, the 24-year-old cannot deny that he is “of course a bit disappointed” and was hoping for a better place Has.
Read more about Malik Harris’ first words after the ESC debacle here.
7.32 a.m .: In the results of six countries, “irregular voting behavior” was registered in the jury selection at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) announced in an official press release on Sunday night. Therefore, the EBU calculated an aggregate substitute result in the second semi-final and in the final, based on the results of other countries with similar voting records, the statement said.
The EBU says it takes any suspected attempts to rig the vote “extremely seriously” and has the right to remove such votes, regardless of whether it affects the outcome. It is now suspected online that Georgia, Azerbaijan, Montenegro, Poland, Romania and San Marino are the six countries affected. Their national juries were excluded from the ESC in 2022 and are no longer listed on the website.
1:59 a.m .: After Ukraine’s victory in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022, President Volodymyr Zelenskyj is overjoyed and wants to host the competition in his country next year. “Our courage impresses the world, our music conquers Europe! Next year Ukraine hosts Eurovision! For the third time in our history,” Zelenskyy said in the Telegram news channel on Sunday morning. He believes that this will not be the last victory.
Zelenskyj also referred to the call by the Kalush Orchestra band at the ESC to save the port city of Mariupol, which was besieged by Russian troops. “We are doing everything so that one day Ukrainian Mariupol will welcome participants and guests of Eurovision. A free, peaceful, rebuilt!” Zelenskyy wrote.
“Thank you to the Kalush Orchestra for the win and everyone who voted for it! I am convinced that our victorious chord in the battle with the enemy is not far off.” Zelenskyy assumes that Ukraine will win the war against Russia that began on February 24. “Glory to Ukraine!” said Zelenskyy. Minister of Culture Oleksandr Tkachenko said he was already thinking about the venue in Ukraine.
It is unclear whether Ukraine can really host the ESC next year. Currently, Ukraine could not host such a competition because of martial law in the country. This means that no major events are permitted; and nightly curfews apply.
1:09 am: In the midst of so much epic and the feeling that the good guys won, I say goodbye to them: have a good night’s sleep. Nice weekend. Bye!
1:07 a.m .: The winners step onto the stage once again to perform their winning song. Where the ESC will take place next year is still unclear. But Kalush shouldn’t think about it at the moment: They are enjoying the victory for their country.
1:04 a.m .: The Ukrainian artists are touched, and their fellow campaigners are also waving Ukraine flags around. Triumphant music in the background, everyone is moved.
1:02 a.m.: “Ukraina, Ukraina!” shout the winners. “Slava Ukraini!”
1:01 a.m .: The winner of the ESC 2022 is Ukraine! Great Britain couldn’t overtake and comes in second.
1:00 a.m.: Who will win? UK or Ukraine? The decision is now! What a heart-stopping finale.
12:58 a.m .: Sweden gets 180 points – also not enough for victory! Cornelia Jakobs is currently third.
00:57: Spain gets 228 points – the country would have needed 401 points to overtake Ukraine. Now singer Chanel is number 2.
12:56 a.m.: With 631 points, Kalush Orchestra is far from first place. Three countries, Spain, Sweden and Great Britain still get their points.
12:55 a.m .: Now Ukraine! How many points do you think she will get from European viewers? 439! Absolute madness!!
12:52 a.m .: Italy gets 110 points – the host will no longer be able to win, but still a respectable result. Meanwhile, Greece gets 57 points. Victory is no longer possible, but a top 10 placement.
12:50 a.m .: Azerbaijan also only scores three points, the singer shakes his head in surprise. Australia is also penalized with two points.
00:49: Serbia gets 225 points! Another board. Konstrakta is therefore first.
12:47 a.m .: Germany is the only country in the ranking with one digit – what a disgrace. Meanwhile, Switzerland gets 0 points, how sad. However, the audience and fellow campaigners cheered Marius Bear up with cheers and applause.
12:46 a.m .: The Czech Republic only gets five points from the viewers – even less than Germany. That makes the country 22nd overall. Belgium also only gets a measly five points.
12:45 a.m .: Moldova gets 239 points from the spectators in Europe – what a cracker! The country thus jumps to the top of the ranking.
12:43 a.m .: Germany gets six points from the spectators and is therefore last.
12:42 a.m .: The tension is slowly rising: The spectator points are distributed cumulatively for each country that competed in the final. Everything is still in there.
12:39 a.m .: The Czech Republic gives Great Britain 12 points, host Italy presents the Dutch with the highest number of points. The awarding of points by the jury is thus ended. Great Britain, Sweden and Spain continue to lead the field. Now come the audience points.
12:35 a.m .: Finland and Great Britain overwhelm Sweden with 12 points. The Astrid Lindgren country, in turn, gives its twelve to Spain, Australia joins them.
12:32 a.m .: Serbia gets 12 points from Croatia, Lithuania has them left for Ukraine. Neighboring Austria also penalizes Germany with 0 points, Great Britain also clears here.
12:29 a.m .: Ireland also gives Spain 12 points, Slovenia gives them to Italy. 12 points from Georgia – another connection problem – are still scurrying to Britain.
12:26 a.m .: Armenia has 12 points for Spain up its sleeve, Montenegro delights Serbia with a twelve. In Romania there is also a problem with the connection, but Ukraine gets the twelve points.
12:25 a.m .: Not even France has a point left for Germany – but that’s enough! 12 points go to Great Britain.
00:22: Greece was also best received by the Danish jury. Great Britain is currently still at the top of the ranking, followed by Sweden and Spain.
12:21 a.m .: Latvia also awards its 12 points to Ukraine, Spain delights Azerbaijan. Belgium gives 12 points to Greece.
12:18 a.m .: 12 points from Iceland go to Sweden, Cyprus pushes them to Greece – of course, there are a few boos in the audience. Halfway through the jury’s scoring process, Germany still has 0 points. How unfair and unjustified for Malik Harris. However, the points awarded now only count for 50 percent.
12:16 a.m .: Moldova also gives Ukraine 12 points, Bulgaria gives them to Greece. Meanwhile, the Serbian presenter has dressed up like the Serbian artist and is washing her hands. She announces: “12 Points go to Azerbaijan”.
12:14 a.m .: Poland gives 12 points to Ukraine. “Slava Ukraini”, calls the Polish presenter, Glory to Ukraine. Greece pushes the 12 to Azerbaijan.
12:12 a.m .: Great Britain also gets 12 points from Belgium, Norway gives Greece the maximum number of points, Israel gives Sweden douze points.
12:10 a.m .: 12 points from Portugal go to neighbors Spain; Singer Chanel is over the moon. Barbara Schöneberger announces the points of the German jury: 12 points go to Boris Johnson’s sphere of influence.
12:09 a.m .: The line to Azerbaijan is hanging, the 12 points still go to Great Britain. In Germany, by the way, the zero has been used so far.
12:07 a.m .: Albania pushes 12 points to Italy, Estonia throws the 12 over to Sweden (Finland grumbles, maybe). Incidentally, Great Britain is currently leading, followed by Sweden and Spain, but so far that has not been very meaningful.
12:05 a.m .: Malta also has 12 points left for Spain. The lady who announces the points from Ukraine first thanks her for the support: “I wish everyone love and peace”. Then she announces the 12 points going to Britain.
12:04 a.m .: San Marino and North Macedonia give Spain 12 points.
12:02 a.m .: Now the ESC switches to the juries of the respective countries. Greece gets the first 12 points from the Dutch jury. Really?
12:00 a.m.: First, the points of the musical juries of all 40 countries that competed in the semi-finals are announced. They count 50 percent. Viewer votes make up the other 50 percent.
11:58 p.m .: A greeting from space: astronaut Samanta Kristoferetti from the international space station waves through once. Your hair stands on end, hehe.
11:57 p.m .: Russia is known to have been excluded from the ESC this year due to Putin’s war of aggression. Will it actually be switched to Russia later when the points are awarded, so Russian viewers can call for their favorites? We will see. By the way, voting is now over.
11:53 p.m .: Where we are currently seeing the fifth quick run: Do you actually have a favorite? Well, I thought Iceland was great, and the Ukrainian contribution was also very inspiring. And now I’m just outing myself shamelessly as a Moldova supporter.
11:52 p.m .: The audience is very impressed by Mika; with his good humor and his see-through butterfly top, he brings the mood in Turin to boiling point again.
11:43 p.m .: Moderator Mika is no slouch – now he conquers the stage. He waves a huge flag with a heart on it and yells “ITALIA”. Then he bangs out old hits like “Grace Kelly”. It feels like 2007 – the year when Pali scarves were still in and Angela Merkel sat in a huge beach chair between Vladimir Putin and George W. Bush at the G8.
11:38 p.m .: The popular singer Gigliola Cinquetti, who won the ESC for Italy for the first time in 1964, provides musical entertainment during the voting. In a simple black dress, she stands on stage like a grande dame and belts out songs like “Non ho l’eta” with such grace that you can hardly believe that a 74-year-old is performing there.
You can find out more about ESC 2022 on the next page.
The original of this post “”Take the bad result very seriously”: NDR draws consequences after ESC debacle” comes from Bunte.de.
