There will be rockets, soldiers and mustachioed men in underpants who will slaughter Vladimir Putin as a “crocodile psychopath” – and that’s just the crusader act.
One of the most stridently political Eurovision grand finals in recent years takes place in Liverpool on Saturday night against the backdrop of a war in Ukraine that shows little sign of ending.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s request to make a live speech during the four-hour broadcast was denied because organizers were concerned it would risk politicizing the contest. There will be little subtlety, however, in the 67th edition of this ritual outreach event.
It will open with a haunting performance from last year’s winners, Ukraine’s Kalush Orchestra, singing their wartime hit Stefania against a looming backdrop of a pained-looking matriarch.
The show will be broadcast live to a global television audience of over 160 million people from the M&S Bank Arena on the banks of the Mersey.
Britain is hosting the competition for the first time in 25 years on behalf of Ukraine, with Liverpool chosen as “bittersweet caretakers of the displaced guests of honour” in Thursday’s semi-final.
One of the more political songs is from Croatian surrealist punk rockers Let 3, about the “crocodile psychopath” Putin and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The band, who appear on stage in soldier outfits and cartoon mustaches before stripping down to their underwear and unveiling huge rockets, have been compared online to what would result “if Super Mario, Sonic the Hedgehog and Boy George had a baby.”
Switzerland’s performance includes falling missiles and the lyrics: “I don’t want to be a soldier, soldier. I don’t want to have to play with real blood.”
Each act will be introduced with ‘postcard’ videos featuring landmarks in Ukraine and Great Britain alongside the other 35 competing nations, a nod to this year’s slogan ‘united by music’ and a showcase for a beleaguered country.
There will be tears too. Co-presenter Hannah Waddingham, the Ted Lasso star, looked emotional during a rendition of You’ll Never Walk Alone at rehearsals on Friday. The song, which has become an anthem for Liverpool Football Club, will be performed by Duncan Laurence of the Netherlands during the voting rounds and there will be live footage of the Ukrainians singing in Kiev.
Ukraine is aiming to become the first country since Ireland in 1994 to win in two consecutive years. Electro duo Tvorchi, whose home rehearsals were interrupted by air raid sirens, will be hoping to win the solidarity vote with their bass-driven stomper Heart of Steel, which warns of the threat of Armageddon nuclear
The couple, who walked the turquoise Eurovision carpet this week in blazers emblazoned with the names and weights of babies born prematurely as a result of the war, are get money to buy neonatal incubators for your country.
Jeffrey Kenny, the vocalist, said they would consider auctioning off the famous microphone-shaped trophy if they won on Saturday, after the Kalush Orchestra sold last year’s prize to raise $900,000 (£713,000) for the Ukrainian army . “If we win, that’s fine: we’ll sell the trophy. We will sell our dresses, it doesn’t matter,” he said.
Tvorchi never expected to be chosen to represent his country – they had bought train tickets home from Kiev on selection day. His hometown of Ternopil in western Ukraine has been bombed by Russian forces this week.
“The results don’t really matter in this case,” Kenny said. “Number one is to win the war because that’s the only way we can host.”
However, anyone expecting Ukraine to come out on top should think again. Sweden is the runaway favorite with a brilliant comeback for Loreen, who won the 2012 contest with the anthem Euphoria.
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Posing for selfies with fans outside his very own mobile sauna in Liverpool’s Albert Dock this week, Finland’s Käärijä is incredibly popular and his Cha Cha Cha is one of the biggest earworms in this year, with an equal performance.
Britain’s Mae Muller, who wasn’t even born when Britain last hosted Eurovision, is aiming for a top 10 finish with I Wrote a Song, which would be her second after last year’s runner-up highest place in the country since 2009.
Adrian Bradley, a Eurovision expert, said the level of performance of this year’s contestants was far higher than previous years, helped by a “truly impressive” BBC production. It was also one of the most political Eurovisions in recent years, he said, despite the organizers’ attempts to be studiously neutral.
“It’s a lot – this is what happens to Ukrainians – the air raid sirens, the song Ordinary World and how it was introduced. [in the first semi-final]to the colors of the Ukrainian flag surrounded by the entire performance,” he said.
“I think the producers of the show are pushing it as far as they can go and they’re doing a good job of getting the point across.”
Paul Bradley, an avid fan who previously worked for Eurovision, said the BBC and the European Broadcasting Union, which owns the contest, had not shied away from the war despite rules about the contest’s non-political nature.
“Politics comes to the World Cup, it comes to the Olympics and Eurovision too, but overall it’s still a fun show,” he said. “I think the most important thing is that it’s joyful. The pandemic has shown us that we need escapism, and Eurovision offers it in abundance.”
