Euro Vision Song Contest
Transmission from the bunker: This is how the Ukrainian TV commentator celebrated the ESC victory
The Ukrainian ESC commentator Timur Miroshnychenko in his improvised studio in a Kiev air raid shelter
© Timur Miroshnychenko / Instagram
The success at the ESC is a ray of hope in wartime for Ukraine. The Ukrainian TV presenter commented on the competition from a bunker in Kyiv – and got emotional.
The political component of the Eurovision Song Contest has never been as pronounced as this year: Ukraine’s victory in Turin was also a clear sign of European solidarity with the country attacked by Russia. For the population, the success of the music competition was at least a small sign of hope.
The reaction of the television commentator also showed what feelings first place at the ESC was associated with for the Ukrainians: inside. Timur Miroshnychenko has been accompanying the ESC on Ukrainian television since 2007, and he also moderated the event in Kyiv in 2017. When it became clear that the band Kalush Orchestra could no longer take the place at the top with their song “Stefania” – a song about the mother of singer Oleh Psiuk – all dams broke for the 36-year-old.
Ukrainian ESC commentator lets his emotions run free
Miroshnychenko posted a video of the crucial moment on Instagram. While the Ukrainian musicians are celebrating their success on his screen, the commentator can no longer keep his seat. He slams his hand on the table, shouts “Ukraine” into his microphone, raises his arms in triumph – and then seems to be overwhelmed by his emotions.
This year, the 36-year-old broadcast from an air raid shelter in Kyiv. “We have to stay underground because you never know,” Miroshnychenko told the Telegraph in advance. “There is no timetable for the air raid alert when Russia launches its bombs.” Since the beginning of the war, the TV presenter has driven people to the border in his car to help them escape. In addition, he presented a number of charity events in favor of Ukraine in Warsaw.
“We can live. And we will!”
On February 24, the first day of the war, he didn’t think about the ESC, Miroshnychenko wrote on his Instagram page before the broadcast. The fact that this is now possible is thanks to the many soldiers in the army who fought for the country. “No matter what place Ukraine takes in Eurovision today, we are already winners. After all, we can participate, enjoy our favorite show, sing with the world and feel the support of our true friends,” he wrote. “We can live. And we will!”
The moderator should be right about that. The evening in Turin was characterized by joie de vivre, but also by numerous expressions of solidarity for Ukraine. At the end of their performance, the winning band Kalush Orchestra called for international support for Ukraine and especially for the city of Mariupol. Miroshnychenko dedicated the victory to the country’s armed forces. “Thanks to you, we all Ukrainians, tired but not broken, scattered all over the world, divided by war but united as never before, with each other and with the whole world, rejoice in victory,” he wrote on Instagram.
“This is the common victory of a united Europe. This is the victory of brave people,” said Miroshnychenko – and added in a short PS that at this moment, at five o’clock in the morning, bomb detonations could be heard again.
Sources: Timur Miroshnychenko on Instagram / “Telegraph” / Suspnilne.eurovision on Instagram