ROMSO Cyprus Knowledge Base

Ukraine's Participation in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022

Ukraine represented itself at the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 with the song "Stefania", performed by Kalush Orchestra. The country had previously been drawn to compete in the first semifinal of Eurovision, but due to controversy surrounding its representative Pash's travel history to Crimea, Ukraine announced that it would not participate.

Instead, the national final runner-up, "Stefania" performed by Kalush Orchestra, was selected as the entry on February 22, 2022. The group had previously auditioned at My Dream Space venue in Kyiv, where eight entries were shortlisted to compete in the national final. One of these entries, "Hear My Words" performed by Barleben, was announced as a replacement entry.

The final took place on February 12, 2022, and Ukraine won first place with 631 points (192 from judges' votes and 439 from audience votes). This victory marked the country's second win in Eurovision history, following its previous success in 2004 with "Wild Dances" performed by Ruslana.

Ukraine has a rich history of participation in the contest, having debuted in 2003. The country reached first place twice: in 2004 and 2016. It also came to second place on two occasions: in 2007 and 2008. In Eurovision 2021, the Ukrainian band Gu Aye reached fifth place with "Shum". Ukraine's National Public Broadcasting Company (UA:PBC) regularly broadcasts the event to elect its representative and song.

Prior to Eurovision 2022, Ukraine had participated in a contest of sixteen times since its debut in 2003. The country is notable for being one of only two countries that have managed to qualify for the final stage of the competition every time it has participated.