Eurovision 2022 is almost upon us with the tonight before the main action kicks off in Turin, Italy.
Forty countries will be belting their hearts out and competing for the glory, including our very own Sam Ryder who is proudly representing the UK with his song Space Man.
However, one country will be noticeably absent as was removed from the competition in light of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of .
So where does that leave Ukraine during this year’s song contest?
Is Ukraine taking part in Eurovision this year?
The short answer is yes!
Rap group Kalush Orchestra will be doing the honours of representing Ukraine this year.
The collective consists of rapper Oleh Psiuk, multi-instrumentalist Ihor Didenchuk and dancer Vlad Kurochka, and were formed in 2019.
Their group name is an ode to Oleh’s hometown of Kalush, situated in the Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast of western Ukraine.
Were Kalush Orchestra given special permission to perform?
With the war still unfolding in Ukraine, a conscription banned men aged between 18 and 60 from leaving the country as they were required to fight against the Russians.
Members of Kalush Orchestra were on the frontline but received special permission to leave to take part in Eurovision 2022.
They told Eurovision TV: ‘We feel a big responsibility, since we received permits to leave Ukraine to be here. We have a duty to be useful to our country at this moment. We didn’t have any opportunity to rehearse together for a long time, but now, we’ve gone into “extra mode”.
‘We’re all very hard working, and we’re all doing what we can to make this happen. We’ve enjoyed seeing people singing our song, even if they didn’t know all the words. We really appreciate seeing people supporting Ukraine, and supporting us.’
What is Kaluch Orchestra’s song?
The rap group will be entering with the song Stefania, which was written to honour Oleh’s mother, who heard the song for the first time when it was performed live at the Ukrainian National Final.
Lyrics such as: ‘I‘ll always find my way home, even if all roads are destroyed,’ have taken on new meaning since the war began.
