A victory without great suspense. Archifavorite bettors, Sweden’s Loreen won hands down the 67e edition of Eurovision, Sunday May 14, in Liverpool (United Kingdom). The competition was this year co-organized with Ukraine. Winner in 2022, the latter could not host the competition due to the war on its territory; the United Kingdom, which had applied, chose the city of the Beatles, A Flock of Seagulls and Frankie Goes To Hollywood to take over from kyiv. Politics, moreover, was not mentioned during this evening placed as usual under the sign of a certain conception of cultural ecumenism and musical lightness.
Loreen, who has collected a total of 583 points, is the second artist to win Eurovision twice – the record was previously held by Irishman Johnny Logan, winner in 1980 and 1987. She thus allows Sweden to tie with Ireland the record for the number of victories by country, seven.
with his song Tattoos, the Scandinavian singer talks about unforgettable love on electro rhythms. In English, we gladly qualify its title as “banger” : a music so captivating that it is difficult to resist the urge to dance. The staging – the artist squeezed between two large cubes that she manages to separate – can be read as a metaphor for female emancipation. A very present theme this year, with Norway (Alessandra, finish 5e) and the Czech Republic (the sextet Vesna, 10e).
Between Sweden and Eurovision, it is also a long love story that began in 1974 with the unforgettable Waterloo from ABBA. Since then, with more than 400 million albums sold, musicals, a virtual tour called Journey, a museum in Stockholm, the group has built up a very lucrative pop empire. They will be able to celebrate with dignity the fifty years of their coronation in their kingdom, the victory of Loreen guaranteeing Sweden to host the competition in 2024.
The appalling and sublime globi-boulga of the Croats
Known for being a compendium of all that Europe (to which Israel and Australia had to be added this year) can produce the most kitsch in terms of music, the great rout of the song showed itself once again true to its reputation. Second in the ranking, the Finnish Käärijä was certainly the wildest expression of this edition. Dressed in a puffy neon green bolero with the most beautiful effect, the singer offered on a platter Cha Cha Cha, a sort of improbable concretion of rap, Rammstein-style metal and electro. His performance, which was not lacking in humor, earned him 526 points and came first in the public votes (which count equally with the votes of the national juries), ahead of Loreen.
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