Ukraine at the Eurovision Song Contest

Balance sheet

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Broadcasting company

First participation

2003

Number of participations

15 (as of 2018)

Highest ranking

1 ( 2004 , 2016 )

Highest Score

534 (2016)

Lowest Score

30 ( 2003 , 2005 )

Points average (since first post)

159.00 (as of 2018)

Average points per voting country in the 12-point system

4.13 (as of 2018)

This article deals with the history of Ukraine as a participant in the Eurovision Song Contest .

Regularity of participation and successes in competition

Ruslana, the first Ukrainian winner in 2004 in Istanbul

Ukraine first took part in Riga in 2003. With the singer Oleksandr Ponomarjow the country reached number 14 and thus a placement in the middle of the field. Due to this placement, Ukraine had to take part in the 2004 semi-finals. With 2nd place there, the country was immediately successful and reached the final. There the singer Ruslana was able to reach number 1 with her song Wild Dances and got a new high score for the country with 280 points. After this success the Ukraine hosted in 2005, but could not build on the previous year's success. The duo Greenjolly ended up only in 20th place out of 24, which for a long time was the worst result in the country in the competition. In the following years, however, the country was much more successful.

Due to the bad ranking of the previous year, Ukraine had to take part in the semi-finals again in 2006, but was able to reach 7th place, with which the country reached the final. There Tina Karol got a good result for the country with 7th place. In 2007 and 2008 Ukraine was very successful and took second place in the final. In 2008 Ani Lorak even managed to win the semi-finals. In 2009, on the other hand, the country only finished 12th in the final and was therefore not among the top ten for the first time since 2005. In 2010 the singer Alyosha reached 10th place again, albeit just under the top ten. In 2011 the singer Mika Newton was even able to surpass the result and ended up fourth in the final. In 2012 this success ended again. The singer Gaitana ended up only in midfield in 15th place. This was the first time in seven years that Ukraine reached the right half of the table. Ukraine was all the more successful in 2013 when the singer Zlata Ohnewitsch reached 3rd place in the semifinals and finals, the best result since 2008. Ukraine was also successful in the competition in 2014 and in the end took 6th place in the final with singer Marija Yaremchuk. However, on September 19, 2014, NTU announced that the country would withdraw from the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest. The reasons given were the political situation and the poor financial situation. So the country did not return to the competition until 2016.

The return in 2016 was a complete success. After the singer Jamala reached 2nd place in the semifinals, she was finally able to win the competition in the end. It was the country's second victory in the competition, making Ukraine the only Eastern European country to have won twice. At the same time, Jamala set a new point record for Ukraine with 534 points and was the first winner at the ESC to exceed 400 points. However, this was also due to the new voting procedure for the 2016 competition. In 2017, Ukraine hosted the Eurovision Song Contest for the second time, but, as in 2005, was not very successful in its own country. After all, the band O.Torvald only took third from last place in the final and thus the worst place for Ukraine in the competition to date. In 2018, the country was unable to build on its previous successes. The singer Mélovin only ended up in 17th place in the final, which means that Ukraine did not make it into the top ten for the first time two years in a row. Despite these minor successes, Ukraine originally wanted to participate in 2019 and had already held a preliminary decision, but withdrew from the competition at the end of February 2019. In 2020 Ukraine returned to the competition. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this could never take place.

A total of 10 of the 15 Ukrainian entries ended up in the left half of the table. In addition, the country has so far achieved two victories and has placed itself in the top ten a total of nine times. Since 2018, after Azerbaijan, Romania and Russia failed to reach the final, Ukraine, along with Australia, are the only countries in the competition that have qualified for the final every time they participate. What is noticeable about the Ukraine, however, is that so far no male representative has been able to reach the left half of the table and the country scores better on average with female representatives than with men. Nevertheless, Ukraine is one of the most successful participants in the competition.

List of posts

Color legend: - 1st place. - 2nd place. - 3rd place. - Equal points with last place. - Eliminated in the semifinals / in the qualification / in the Eastern European preliminary decision. - no participation / not qualified. - Cancellation of the Eurovision Song Contest.      

year	Interpreter	Song Music (M) and Text (T)	language	translation	final		Semi-final / qualification		National preliminary decision
					space	Points	space	Points
2003	Oleksandr Ponomarjow Олександр Пономарьов	Hasta la vista M: Svika Pick; T: Mirit Shem Or	English a.	Goodbye	14/26	30th	Qualified directly for the final		internal selection
2004	Ruslana Руслана	Wild Dances M: Ruslana; T: Ruslana, Oleksandr Ksenofontov	English, Ukrainian	Wild dances	1  / 24th	280	2/22	256	internal selection
2005	Greenjolly ринджоли	Razom nas bahato Разом нас багато M / T: Roman Kalyn, Roman Kostyuk, Mikola Kulinich	Ukrainian, English	Together we are more	20/24	30th	Qualified directly for the final		National preliminary decision
2006	Tina Karol Тіна Кароль	Show Me Your Love M: Tina Karol, Mikhail Nekrasov; T: Pavel Shilko	English	Show me your love	7/24	145	7/23	146	Ty-circa 2006
2007	Verka Serduchka Вєрка Сердючка	Dancing Lasha Tumbai Dancing Лаша тумбай M / T: Andrei Danilko	English, German , Ukrainian, Russian	Dancing the Lasha Tumbai	2/24	235	Qualified directly for the final		National preliminary decision
2008	Ani Lorak Ані Лорак	Shady Lady M: Filipp Kirkorow ; T: Karen Kavaleryan	English	Dubious lady	2/25	230	1/19	152	National preliminary decision
2009	Svetlana Loboda Світлана Лобода	Be My Valentine (Anti-Crisis Girl) M: Switlana Loboda; T: Yevgeny Matyushenko	English	Be my valentine (anti-crisis girl)	12/25	76	6/19	80	National preliminary decision
2010	Alyosha Альоша	Sweet People M: Olena Kucher, Borys Kukoba, Vadim Lisitsa; T: Olena Kucher	English	Dear people	10/25	108	7/17	77	National preliminary decision
2011	Mika Newton Міка Ньютон	Angel M: Ruslan Kvinta; T: Maryna Skomorohova	English	Angel	4/25	159	6/19	81	National preliminary decision
2012	Gaitana Гайтана	Be My Guest M / T: Gaitana	English	Be my guest	15/26	65	8/18	64	Evrobachennya 2012 - Natsionalyni vidbir
2013	Zlata Ohnevich Злата Огневич	Gravity M: Mikhail Nekrasov; T: Karen Kavaleryan	English	Gravity	3 / 26th	214	3/16	140	Evrobachennya 2013 - Natsionalyni vidbir
2014	Maria Yaremchuk Mapiya Khremchuk	Tick ​​Tock M: Marija Yaremchuk; T: Marija Yaremchuk, Sandra Bjurman	English	Tick ​​Tock	6/26	113	5/16	118	Evrobachennya 2014 - Natsionalyni vidbir
2015	No participation
2016	Jamala Джамала	1944 M / T: Susana Jamaladinowa	Crimean Tatar , English	-	1  / 26th	534	2/18	287	Widbir 2016
2017	O. Torwald	Time M / T: O. Torwald	English	time	24/26	36	Qualified directly for the final		Widbir 2017
2018	Mélovin	Under the Ladder M: Mélovin; T: Mike Ryals	English	Under the ladder	17/26	130	6/18	179	Widbir 2018
2019	MARUV	Siren Song M: Hanna Korsun , Mikhail Busin; T: Hanna Korsun	English German	Siren song	Participation withdrawn withdrawal from MARUV				Widbir 2019
2020	Go_A	Solowej Соловей M: Taras Shevchenko , Kateryna Pavlenko ; T: Kateryna Pavlenko	Ukrainian	nightingale	Cancellation due to the COVID-19 pandemic by the EBU				Widbir 2020
2021	Go_A

^a.with Spanish title

National preliminary decisions

While the Ukrainian representatives were selected internally in 2003 and 2004, NTU held a national preliminary decision in each of the following years, with a changing mode:

2005

In 2005, the preliminary round was particularly complex, comprising no fewer than 15 semi-final rounds with five participants each, of which the best qualified for the final. Shortly before the final, however, NTU announced that four other artists received a “ wildcard ” for the final, one of which Greenjolly also won. The vote was taken by telephone voting.

2006

With the help of the casting show Ti-Zirka , in which professional singers could also take part, the Ukrainian representative was to be determined in 2006. The three finalists each presented their own contribution and through a mixture of telephone voting and a professional jury.

2007

In 2007 a preliminary decision in the “classical” sense was held, seven artists each presented a title in one evening. The winner was determined again with the help of a mixture of telephone voting and an expert jury.

2010

On New Year's Eve 2009, the Ukrainian broadcaster presented the internally selected candidate for the 2010 Grand Prix. It was Vasyl Lazarowich . On March 6th, he presented six songs in a public preliminary decision. The decision was made by televoting and an expert jury. There was criticism because other singers didn't have the chance to apply as candidates. The winner was the ballad I Love You .

However, shortly thereafter, the station's management changed. This decided that the current participant should be withdrawn and a new one sought. Now other singers also had the chance to buy their ticket to Oslo . The broadcaster allowed the rejected singer Wassyl Lazarowich to take part in the new preliminary round. He did this too, but only finished eighth with his previously selected song. 20 songs took part in the finals without semifinals. The decision was again made by televoting and an expert jury.

2011

This year there were 5 preliminary rounds, three semifinals before the actual final. There was also a scandal in the preliminary decision in 2011, as the second-placed Zlata Ohnewitsch and the third-placed Jamala felt cheated due to an alleged manipulation of the vote by the winner Mika Newton. The broadcaster NTU offered a second final among the top three, but this did not take place due to the cancellation of the two plaintiffs. So Mika Newton was still able to represent Ukraine.

2012-2014

There have been no more abnormalities since 2012. The preliminary rounds were abolished and a final, in 2012 in February and since 2013 at the end of December, consisting of 21 and since 2013 20 participants, leads to the Ukrainian contribution.

2016

A cooperation with the private TV broadcaster STB was organized for 2016 . The selection started with a series of live auditions in December across Ukraine. On December 5 and 6, open auditions took place in Zaporizhia and Kharkiv , on December 12 and 13 in Odessa and Lviv , and on December 19 and 20 in Dnipropetrovsk and Kiev . After a preliminary selection, the 18 participants were announced. During the subsequent televoting of the preliminary decision, the telephone costs were borne by the station STB so that as many Ukrainians as possible can participate in the election. There were two semifinals with nine participants on February 6th and 13th, three of which reached the final. The final took place on February 21, 2016.

2017, 2018 and 2020

Despite hosting the ESC in 2017, the Ukrainian television broadcaster NTU decided in cooperation with STB to hold a national preliminary decision based on the same principle as in the previous year. This took place on February 25, 2017. The cooperation continued in 2018 and 2020. The preliminary decision also used the same principle as before.

2019

In 2019, the country originally wanted to participate and has already selected a candidate via the preliminary decision Widbir 2019 . The winner MARUV did not agree to UA: Perschyj's contract , which stipulated, among other things, that she would have to bear all costs for Tel Aviv herself and that her concerts in Russia would have had to be canceled. She would not have been allowed to comment publicly on this without consulting the broadcaster. UA: Perschjy contacted the second and third place winners in the preliminary round, who, however, also did not want to represent Ukraine as they did not legitimately win the preliminary round. On February 27, 2019, the broadcaster announced that they would withdraw their participation in 2019. The station wants to return in 2020, but only if Russia does not win.

languages

Most of the Ukrainian contributions were presented entirely in English, but there were a few exceptions. The 2003 entry had a Spanish title line and the 2004 winning title contained a few lines in the local language. In both 2005 and 2007 the songs were multilingual: Greenjolly sang in Ukrainian, English, Polish, German, Spanish, Czech, French and Russian; Verka Serduchka two years later in English, German, Ukrainian and Russian. The two words in the headline Lasha Tumbai have no meaning, but they sound like Russia goodbye . Since political statements are not allowed in the Eurovision Song Contest, Verka claimed the words were Mongolian and meant "whipped butter". Since then, apart from the 2016 winner Jamala, which contains a chorus in Crimean Tatar in addition to English stanzas , they have only sung in English. The 2020 contribution would have been the first title sung entirely in Ukrainian.

Commercial success

Wild Dances was very successful commercially across Europe. Dancing Lasha Tumbai, the 2007 entry, achieved 28th place in Great Britain and 31st place in Ireland - through downloads alone . In France , the song was even a top 10 hit, reaching number six.

Competitions held

year	city	venue	Moderation
2005	Kiev	Sports Palace	Maria Efrosinina & Pawlo Schilko
2017		International Exhibition Center	Volodymyr Ostaptschuk , Oleksandr Skitschko & Timur Miroschnytschenko

Scoring

The following countries received the most points from or awarded the most points to Ukraine (as of 2018):

Most of the points awarded in the final space country Points 1  Russia 116 2  Azerbaijan 082 3  Moldova 071 4th  Armenia 051  Georgia 051

Most in the final received points space country Points 1  Belarus 126 2  Poland 120 3  Moldova 117 4th  Azerbaijan 108 5  Russia 101

Most of the points awarded space country Points 1  Belarus 155 2  Russia 144 3  Moldova 121 4th  Azerbaijan 117 5  Georgia 115

Most total obtained points space country Points 1  Belarus 215 2  Moldova 178 3  Poland 171 4th  Latvia 164 5  Georgia 157

Award of the highest rating

Since 2003, Ukraine has awarded the maximum number of points to nine different countries, four of which to Russia. In the semifinals, on the other hand, Ukraine awarded the maximum number of points to 12 different countries, five of which to Belarus.

Highest rating (final) year country Place (final) 2003  Russia 3 2004  Serbia and Montenegro 2 2005  Moldova 6th 2006  Russia 2 2007  Belarus 6th 2008  Russia 1 2009  Norway 1 2010  Azerbaijan 5 2011  Georgia 9 2012  Azerbaijan 4th 2013  Belarus 16 2014  Sweden 3 2015 No participation 2016  Lithuania (J) 9  Russia (T) 3 2017  Belarus (J) 17th  Moldova (T) 3 2018  France (J) 13  Israel (T) 1 2019 Participation withdrawn 2020 Competition canceled

Highest rating (semi-finals) year country Place (semifinals) 2004  Serbia and Montenegro 1 2005  Moldova 2 2006  Russia 3 2007  Belarus 4th 2008  Georgia 5 2009  Azerbaijan 2 2010  Azerbaijan 2 2011  Slovakia 13 2012  Belarus 16 2013  Belarus 7th 2014  Armenia 4th 2015 No participation 2016  Australia (J) 1  Poland (T) 6th 2017  Belarus (J&T) 9 2018  Netherlands (J) 7th  Moldova (T) 3 2019 Participation withdrawn 2020 Competition canceled

various

• The Ukrainian contribution from 2006 was originally called I Am Your Queen, but after the preliminary decision it received a completely new text. This was written by Pavel Shilko - the moderator of the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 in Kiev.
• Ruslana was originally announced as the presenter of the Eurovision Song Contest in Kiev, but announced her retirement almost two weeks before the event for reasons of time. Internally it was blasphemed that Ruslana announced her withdrawal due to a lack of English language skills.
• Since the Eurovision Song Contest 2005, citizens of the EU and Switzerland who enter Ukraine are visa-free for 90 days. However, this facilitated entry was not adopted for the 2009 contests in Moscow (Russia) and 2012 in Baku (Azerbaijan).
• At Mika Newton's appearance in 2011, the winners of the Ukrainian counterpart to "Das Supertalent", Ksenija Symonowa , were employed as a sand painter and their drawings were transferred to the LED wall in the background.
• In 2013 the Ukrainian interpreter Zlata Ohnewitsch was carried on stage by Igor Vowkowinskij, the tallest living person in the USA.
• Ukraine is the only Eastern European country that has won the Eurovision Song Contest more than once.
• Ukraine was the first country to win with over 400 points.

Impressions

• 

  Tina Karol 2006

• 

  Verka Serduchka 2007

• 

  Ani Lorak 2008

• 

  Swetlana Loboda 2009

• 

  Alyosha 2010

• 

  Gaitana 2012

• 

  Zlata Ognevich 2013

• 

  Maria Yaremchuk 2014

• 

  Jamala 2016

• 

  O. Torvald 2017

• 

  Mélovin 2018

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Eric Nocito: Ukraine withdraws from Eurovision! In: escreporter.com. September 19, 2014, accessed May 22, 2018 . 
2. ↑ Sanjay (Sergio) Jiandani: Ukraine: UA: PBC withdraws from Eurovision 2019. In: esctoday.com. February 27, 2019, accessed on March 16, 2019 . 
3. ↑ geocities.ws
4. ↑ geocities.ws
5. ↑ geocities.ws
6. ↑ eurofire.me
7. ↑ eurovision.tv
8. ↑ Padraig Muldoon: They're out: Ukraine will not participate in Eurovision 2019. In: wiwibloggs.com. February 27, 2019, accessed on February 27, 2019 . 
9. ^ Neil Farren: Ukraine: Intend to Participate in Eurovision 2020. In: eurovoix.com. February 28, 2019, accessed March 2, 2019 . 
10. ↑ diggiloo.net
11. ↑ Verka sang Russia goodbye? ( Memento from March 22, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
12. ↑ 10 esc songs in UK Chart ( Memento from March 22, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
13. ↑ keithm.utvinternet.ie ( Memento from August 18, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
14. ↑ charts-surfer.de
15. ↑ esctoday.com
16. ↑ ukraina.at ( Memento from October 31, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
17. ↑ ukraina.at ( Memento from October 16, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
18. ↑ Marco Brey: Ukraine invites us to a surreal fantasy. In: eurovision.tv. May 2013, accessed on May 20, 2013 .