The stage of the Stockholm arena might have been cleared of competition glitter, but the Eurovision battle has continued on politically, with lawmakers arguing where to host the next year’s contest.
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Guest-nation Australia took home second place, and Russian Federation, which had been the favorite to win, took home third.
Despite the contest organizers’ insistence the contest is apolitical, the final was laden with symbolism.
Simon Bennett, the head of the International OGAE Eurovision fan club, told the BBC that ex-Soviet republics that would “normally vote for Russia” sent it a message by voting for Ukraine instead.
Tensions between Russian Federation and Ukraine were stoked by the victory of a politically charged song by a Ukrainian singer in the annual Eurovision Song Contest.
People at a restaurant in Kiev celebrate Ukrainian singer Jamala’s win in the Eurovision Song Contest.
The deportation of Crimean Tatars was ordered by Communist leader Joseph Stalin during the Soviet era, accusing them of collaborating with the Nazi Germany.
“We would very much like the next Eurovision Song Contest to be held in Crimea”.
Jamala herself told AFP before the event that she had not visited the peninsula in two years because she was “in the risk zone” for supporting Ukraine.
Russian Federation had earlier protested Ukraine’s entry in the contest because of its “political” subtext – a violation of the contest’s rules.
After the results of Saturday night’s contest were announced in Stockholm, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko wrote on Twitter: “Personally congratulated Jamala with the victory”.
This year’s Eurovision contest marked the 61st time singers and bands from around Europe and the world (including Israel and Australia) gathered for the intense and wildly popular competition.
In this year’s contest, national juries from the 41 participant countries as well as viewers were eligible to vote.
Russian tabloid “Komsomolskaya Pravda” published an online article following the results called “How the European jury stole victory from Lazarev”.
Russia news agency RIA Novosti published the comment of Ruslan Balbeka, the so-called “deputy prime minister” of the occupied Crimea, who said that even being the best performer in the world may not be enough for the victory, especially if you have Russian citizenship. “That all sportsman take doping and that Russians are aggressive”.
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The show will air live and commercial-free at 3 p.m. EDT Saturday and stream on LogoTV.com and the Logo TV app. “We’re waiting for you at home, with borscht and chicken, I promise!”
