Ukraine in the Eurovision Song Contest
Ukraine has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest three times,
debuting in 2003 with a 14th place finish for the popular singer Oleksandr
Ponomaryov. Our country won in its second year of Eurovision, hosting the
most recent contest. Eurovision Song Contest 2005
The Eurovision Song Contest 2005 was won by Greece. It was the 50th
Eurovision competition and was held in Kiev, Ukraine on May 21, 2005. The
semi-finals took place on May 19, 2005. 10 out of 25 countries with the
highest scores in the semi-final joined 14 already pre-qualified countries
in the final. Both events were televised across Europe. The event took
place at the Palace of Sports in downtown Kiev in front of over 6000
spectators. Organisers hope that this event will boost Ukraine\'s image
abroad and increase tourism, while the country\'s new government hopes it
will also give a modest boost to the long-term goal of acquiring European
Union membership. Bulgaria and Moldova took part for the first time while
Hungary returned after a hiatus since 1998. Lebanon was also expected to
make a debut appearance but was forced to withdraw after announcing they
would show commercials over the Israeli entry. The hosts for the event
were television presenter Maria "Masha" Efrosinina and DJ Pavlo "Pasha"
Shylko (from GALA Radio), along with the previous winner Ruslana and the
famous Ukrainian boxers Vitali Klitschko & Wladimir Klitschko. A special
trophy was presented to the winner by Ukraine\'s president, Viktor
Yushchenko. The winner was Greece\'s "My Number One" performed by the Greek singer
Helena Paparizou, who scored 230 points. Malta\'s "Angel" performed by
Chiara was the runner up with 192 points. Romania, Israel and Latvia
rounded out the Top 5. The host Ukraine along with the so-called "Big 4"
(Spain, United Kingdom, France, and Germany) propped up the bottom of the
table. Ruslana Lyzhichko
Ruslana Lyzhichko is the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2004.
Born in 1973, she is a Ukrainian singer, dancer, producer, and
composer. She writes, composes and produces her own songs and music
videos. In Ukraine she had her first hit in 1998 with the song Sunrise and the
album A Moment of Spring. In 1999 she worked on the Christmas musical The
Final Christmas of the 1990s, which won the Ukrainian Movie of the Year.
Her album Dyki Tantsi (Wild Dances) which was issued in 2003 went platinum
in Ukraine, selling over 100,000 copies. She won the Eurovision Song Contest 2004 with Wild Dances, which earned
280 points, receiving points from 34 of the 35 other countries
participating in the contest (the exception being Switzerland whose own
entry was eliminated after scoring no points in the semi-final). In 2004\'s disputed Ukrainian presidential elections, she declared her
support for Viktor Yushchenko. She was one of the scores of prominent
figures that addressed the mass crowds rallying in support of Yushchenko\'s
demand that his original defeat be declared fraudulent, and at one stage
she was even quoted as saying she was ready to go on hunger strike for the
cause. Greenjolly
Greenjolly (sometimes spelled Grindzholy) is a Ukrainian rap band most
widely known for their song, Razom Nas Bahato, Nas Ne Podolaty (Together
there are many of us! We cannot be defeated!), which became the unofficial
anthem of the Ukrainian Orange Revolution in 2004. It deliberately
resembles a title of a famous Chilean anti-Pinochet resistance song, "el
pueblo unido jam?s ser? vencido" (The People United Will Never Be
Defeated), written by composer Frederic Rzewski. The band originates from the Ivano-Frankivsk region in Western Ukraine.
In conjunction with various radio stations in the country, the band wrote
a rap song to support the masses in their protest against the electoral
fraud that took place during the Ukrainian presidential election. The song became widely known in Ukraine, and was frequently played on
many radio and TV stations. The song has been downloaded millions of times
on the internet and has become an instant hit. Greenjolly won the
nomination to represent Ukraine in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 by the
interactive vote held among TV viewers, after Razom Nas Bahato was
controversially put in contention as a last minute \'wild-card\' addition to
the final of the national pre-selection competition, which had already
gone through fifteen gruelling semi-finals, dating back to before the
Orange Revolution. This success came as a surprise even for the band
performers who in the immediate aftermath vowed to represent Ukraine
competitively in the prestigious contest. However, the lyrics of the song
have had to be substantially reworked in order to be consistent with the
rules laid down by the European Broadcasting Union. In the finals, which by coincidence were held in Ukraine after Ruslana
Lyzhichko\'s win in the 2004 contest, Greenjolly finished 20th despite
picking up full points from the Polish televote. Contestants
| Year | Finished | Artist
| Song | | 2003 | 14th | Oleksandr Ponomaryov | Hasta La
Vista | | 2004 | 1st | Ruslana Lyzhichko | Wild Dances
| | 2005 | 20th | Greenjolly | Razom Nas Bahato
(Together We Are Strong) |
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