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Ukraine: Kalush Orchestra sell the Eurovision trophy for $900,000!

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Kalush Orchestra announced through their Facebook profile that they sell their Eurovision trophy through auction for $900,000. The buyer of the trophy is the company WhiteBit, from which came the eventual winning bid.

The owners of the company are Vladimir Nosov and Oleg Kayin, from Estonia and Ukraine respectively. The company is specialised in the trade of cryptocurrency and their target is to expand the cryptocurrency community and create a safe way for blockchain trading to spread.

In the post, Kalush Orchestra share their appreciation for everyone who has taken part in the auction

In their Facebook post, Kalush Orchestra say:

Friends, you are incredible!

We are grateful to each and every one of you who has donated to this auction – especially to the WhiteBit Team who have bought the trophy for $900,000 and have since become the owners of the trophy. 🏆

Subscribe to them, they really deserve it 💪

Glory to Ukraine! Glory to the Armed Forces 🇺🇦

The funded money will go to Serhiy Prytula, according to NEXTA. Serhiy Prytula is an Ukrainian army volunteer who also coordinated the auction of the Eurovision trophy. In his self-titled foundation, he raises funds to support the Ukrainian army wherever they need help.

NEXTA also reports that the funds will be used to purchase drones for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Kalush Orchestra also sold copies of the pink fisherman’s hat Oleh Psiuk has been wearing during the contest. The hats were for sale at $5 each, but it isn’t know how many copies are sold yet.

Source: ESCXTRA

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the news!

 

Kalush Orchestra auctions pink hat and Eurovision trophy

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Oleh Psyuk, the lead singer of Kalush Orchestra confirmed their intention to auction their Eurovision trophy.  All proceeds from this auction are intended to help the Ukrainian military.  Oleh iconic pink hat which he wore during his Eurovision performance is also a part of the auction.

The auction

Starting in May 28th at 7 pm people who want to participate can donate 200 Grivna (around 5 euros) through this link.  Each participant will get one lottery ticket for every 200 grivna donation.  The winner of the lottery will get Oleh’s pink hat.  Moreover, the person who donates the most amount of money or in cryptocurrency will get the Eurovision 2022 trophy.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by KALUSH (@kalush.official)

“We are doing our best to help Ukraine. This is my panama hat, still with the sweat of my performance at Eurovision 2022. We want to sell this hat and all the proceeds will go to the Ukrainian military”  Oleh Psyuk

 

Kalush Orchestra won the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 held in Turin with their song Stefania.  The band received 631 points in the Grand Final, 439 coming from the televote making them the winners with the highest number of televote points in Eurovision history.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1fl60ypdLs&ab_channel=EurovisionSongContest

Source

Stay tuned for more Eurovision related news and updates!

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

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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

Do you think Ukraine will host Eurovision 2023? Tells us in the comments!

Kalush Orchestra: “Save Mariupol, Save Ukraine and Help Azovstal”

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With a statement about the salvation of Ukraine, Mariupol and those trapped in the Azovstal factory, the only point of Mariupol not controlled by the Russians, the Kalush Orchestra, the big favorite for the victory in the  Eurovision Song Contest, finished their performance.

After performing their song Stefania, the Kalush Orchestra addressed the millions of viewers who watched them saying:

Save Mariupol, save Ukraine, help Azovstal!

The Kalush Orchestra are first on the betting table by a very large margin from the other entries, currently having a 60% chance of being the winners of the competition.

The contest continues and in a few hours we will know if they will manage to bring the third victory of Ukraine in the competition!

Ukraine: They remain the only country in the contest with no non-qualifications!

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Yestarday’s qualification of the folk-rap band Kalush Orchestra representing, of course Ukraine, keeps the country’s record of having qualified for the final of every contest they have taken part in. The uniqueness of the song and the whole political circumstances, made the Eastern European country, win the ticket for the Grand Final once again.

Kalush Orchestra’s live performance with the song “Stefania” kept the country on top of the betting odds and with a “safe distance” from the second place, Italy. The video of their live performance on YouTube has gotten more than 826.000 views in just a few hours.

After Ukraine, the countries with only one non-qualification in the semi-finals are:

  • Sweden (2010)*
  • Azerbaijan (2018)*
  • Australia (2021)*

* All of these countries are competing in the second semi-final where we’ll find out whether these numbers will remain the same.

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Stay tuned at Eurovisionfun for all the updates regarding Eurovision 2022!

Eurovision 2022: The Dress Rehearsal of the First Semi Final! (Live)

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Today is the first day of the Eurovision week! We can already hear the “Sound of Music” echoing from Pala Olimpico in Turin and it’s just a few days before we finally know who is actually going to win the 66th Eurovision Song Contest!

The dress rehearsal of the Eurovision 2022 First Semi Final has just started. EurovisionFun will be watching all the shows live at both the on-site press centre in Turin and at the online press centre and we will be covering this rehearsal, commenting on all the performances and describing in detail what is happening during the show.

You will be able to to follow the entire process and get the feeling that you are right at the heart of the contest! This article gets updated in nearly real-time, all you need to do is hit the refresh button on your browser and all the rest is on us!

We will keep you up to date with all the latest details about this dress rehearsal for the First Semi Final show, allowing you to get a glimpse of what you will get to see tomorrow May 10th, at 21:00 CEST when the actual semi-final show takes place.

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Eurovision 2022: Ukraine’s Second Rehearsal!

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The second section of the 5th day of rehearsals in Turin starts with Ukraine. Ukraine is the big odds’ favourite, giving them a 43% possibility of winning! The first rehearsal seemed similar to the performance of the national selection. The members of Kalush Orchestra wore traditional clothes, while light and blue lighting dominated the staging. Kalush Orchestra with their song ‘Stefania’ come on stage for their second rehearsal hoping to live up to the people’s expectations.

The Second Rehearsal

Ukraine’s rehearsal starts with a close shot on the front water part of the stage, the water has orange color. The yellow and orange colors are dominant in the backround also.  The artists of the band are standing still being shadowed by the lighting. Then the rap part hits, the staging here is similar to the national selection’s one. There is a cool effect with their shadows on the led floor, being surrounded by an orange-sunset like color. They are doing a characteristic grooving move. The artists are wearing traditional clothes. In the instrumental they are dancing like in the national selection performance. In the second pre-chorus we see again the shadows in the led floor grooving but the shadows this time are multi-colored with traditional shapes. In the second chorus the backround turns blue. The performance is much more enhanced compared to the national selection one. The staging features wide use of the led floor. In the bridge, the artists are clapping cheering the audience to clap, too and the backround turns again to orange. There are shots in the audience. At the last intrumental part the dancer is doing some moves in the middle, while there is a good shot from above showing the effects of the led floor. At the end each member of the band becomes more free. They are bringing a party on the Eurovision stage!

Below you can watch an exclusive preview clip of Kalush Orchestra’s second rehearsal:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fPi0kFryLI

EBU / ANDRES PUTTING

EBU / ANDRES PUTTING

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Eurovision 2022: Ukraine First Rehearsal!

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Up next for the first rehearsals of Eurovision Song Contest 2022 is Ukraine and Kalush Orchestra with the song “Stefania”!

About Kalush Orchestra

Kalush Orchestra is a Ukrainian hip-hop band that combines ethnic motifs with modern sounds using different folk instruments. The band was named after the Ukrainian city of Kalush. Set in the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains. Serving as a mascot that inspires the band to involve different folk elements and authentic Ukrainian music within their songs and is the hometown of band member Oleh Psiuk. 

The members of Kalush Orchestra are Oleh Psiuk, Tymofii Muzychuk, Ihor Didenchuk, Vitalii Duzhyk, Oleksandr Slobodianyk and Vlad Kurochka.

The Rehearsal

So Stefania is a tribute to band member Oleh’s mother, and apparently she did not know he’d written it until she saw them perform it on Ukraine’s Eurovision selection show,  Vidbir . We bet that was a pretty special moment for Oleh’s mum, and now she gets to see them perform on this huge Eurovision stage. Some incredible outfits in this lineup – not everyone can pull off a sparkly waistcoat paired with a pink bucket hat, never mind the German flag made entirely of fringing. But these guys are nailing it.

You can watch a small clip of Ukraine’s first rehearsal here

EBU / ANDRES PUTTING

EBU / ANDRES PUTTING

The second rehearsal of Ukraine will take place on Wednesday 4th May and we will have a better idea of ​​what we will see from Kalush Orchestra on the stage.

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Ukraine: The non-political character has been ensured.

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The war in Ukraine continues, with the state broadcaster still continuing preparations for Eurovision participation in Turin.

Τhe Head of the Managing Board of UA: PBC,  Mykola Chernotytskyi, said

We believe that Ukraine’s representation at Eurovision is an important part of the country’s participation in European life. It is also our representation. The band representing the country also has an important mission to promote Ukraine. That’s why I hope that they will win,”

The leader of Kalush Orchestra, Oleh Psiuk, revealed the details of the stage costumes of the band members at the Eurovision Song Contest 2022.

The panama hat will be there for sure. Blue and yellow symbols will be there too. The costumes will differ by 50%.

Oleksii Zhembrovskyi, director of Ukraine’s performance at Eurovision 2022, explained how the non-political character was ensured.

In the dialogue with the EBU, we encountered this issue several times during the development phase of the performance, and have already reworked it several times, following all the requirements. Therefore, this issue has already been resolved and will visually look decent. For the director, first of all, it is important not only to visualize the song, but also to convey its energy. The best thing for us is the strength of our guys’ spirit and the power of our native land’s energy. Therefore, all the visual effects we use will be focused on this. The spotlight will, of course, be on the artist who transmits this energy, and the visual effects will paint the ornament of the Ukrainian soul,”

Ukraine is participating in the 1st Semifinal.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UiEGVYOruLk

Source: wiwbloggs.com

Stay tuned in Eurovisionfun for all the updates regarding Ukrainian participation.

 

Ukraine: Kalush Orchestra film their postcard in Israel!

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Having special permission from the Ukrainian government, Kalush Orchestra started the promotion of their song abroad. First stop is Israel, in the special Eurovision Party called, Israel Calling. Taking advantage of this trip, the group decided to film the postcard for their participation, that is shown before their performance in the semi-final, and hopefully the Final.

With the help of the Jewish Agency for Israel, Kalush Orchestra traveled from Ukraine to Tel Aviv, to perform in Israel Calling, but also to film their postcard.

The group met up with Ukrainian refugees in Israel, singing them what else but “Stefania”, the song that will represent Ukraine in Eurovision 2022.

Kalush Orchestra reunited a few days ago in Lviv, singing in “Stefania” in the roads of the town. The song that is devoted to mothers, has become an hymn to all Ukrainians, in this battle against the Russian invasion.

Ukraine will participate normally in Eurovision 2022, with Kalush Orchestra performing live on stage their song, despite all the possible scenarios emerging in the previous days. Less than a month before the rehearsals, Ukraine is still the favorite to win the 66th Eurovision Song Contest, according to the betting odds.

Stay tuned on Eurovisionfun for all the news regarding the Ukrainian participation at the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Turin, Italy!