Timur Miroshnychenko talks on Ukraine’s victory and the 2023 contest

Eurovision 2017 and Junior Eurovision 2009 and 2013 host, Timur Miroshnychenko, spoke to The Euro Trip podcast on commentating for Ukrainian television from a bomb shelter, his feelings after Kalush Orchestra won and hosting the 2023 contest.

Timur has been commentating Eurovision for Ukraine since 2007, with the exception of 2017 when he hosted the contest along Oleksandr Skichko and Volodymyr Ostapchuk. His reaction to Ukraine’s third victory in the contest while commentating from a bomb shelter, made headlines. When asked what did he say when Ukraine was announced as a winner, he replies:

First of all I’ve said that this victory is dedicated to the armed forces of Ukraine, because of their heroism we had an opportunity to participate in this year Eurovision, and to be with the free world. On 24th of February we didn’t think about Eurovision of course we just thought about how to stay alive, and in May just 2 1/2 months after that date, we were there and right now we think where to host next year.

He revealed that on the second day of the war he had to fled Kiev with his family and go to the West of Ukraine, while he had to go back and volunteer on various occasions. Being one of the hosts of the most popular morning show on Ukrainian television, which was relaunched a few weeks after the Russian invasion, he feels that he helps from his part to uplift the morale of Ukrainians and that is what he also tried to do while commentating Eurovision.

Miroshnychenko praised Kalush Orchestra and explained that “Stefania” became an unofficial anthem of Ukraine even before their victory, when it was the soundtrack of thousands of posts from people in the frontline fleeing the country. When asked for the meaning of this victory to Ukrainians, he tells The Euro Trip podcast:

When the hosts announced the results we just blew up with emotions. I received  hundreds of thousands of messages on social media from Ukrainian people who have written to me “we cried with you” […] On 24th of February all of us thought that we are alone in this war, and the result of this year’s Eurovision is like a sign for all of us that hey guys we are here, we stand by you everything is gonna be ok.

When it comes on hosting next years contest, Timur says that he strongly believes in the Ukrainian armed forces and he hopes that the war will end soon, enabling Ukraine to welcome everyone and use this opportunity to thank them for their support during these difficult times. He also notes that this decision will be taken at a later stage but he believes that cities like Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odessa and Dnipro who had no big damages from the war, will be able to host next year’s Eurovision.

Below you can listen to the full interview of Timur Miroshnychenko

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