The group Kalush Orchestra from Ukraine is the favorite to win the Eurovision music contest according to the bookies in Paris.
Eurovision will be presented tomorrow Saturday inTurin, Italy. This year, the folk-rap groupKalush Orchestra is the big favorite of the competition.And for good reason, the country of the group is currently under siege by the Russian army.
“As we speak, our country and our culture are under threat. But we want to show that we are alive, that Ukrainian culture is alive, that it is unique, diverse and beautiful,” Oleg Psyuk, the group’s lead singer, told CNN.
While most men of fighting age are being held back in the country to repel the Russian invader, the members ofKalush Orchestrawill fight to make Ukraine shine.
“This is our way to be useful to our country,” says the singer.
As you can imagine, the road toEurovision was not easy forKalush Orchestra.
The group initially finished second in the Ukrainian national selection contest, but was promoted after it emerged that the winner had traveled to Russia’s annexed Crimea. The winning band was announced on Feb. 22, two days before Russian troops invaded Ukraine.
“All the members of the group are in one way or another involved in the defense of the country,” Psyuk said.
One member of the group’s media team has joined the defense of the territory and is fighting on the front lines, leaving the group short-handed in Turin.Oleg Psyuk, meanwhile, is volunteering to find shelter for internally displaced Ukrainians and is organizing the transport of food and medicine.
The group was forced to rehearse virtually until they could finally meet in Lviv after weeks of war.
Their song Stefania, sung in Ukrainian, is a tribute to Psyuk’s mother, who still lives in the western city of Kalush, from which the group takes its name.
“Some days rockets fly over people’s houses and it’s like a lottery – no one knows where they will hit,” the singer explains.
Eurovision organizers excluded Russia from the contest last February.
