LIVERPOOL, England (AP) — The final of the Eurovision Song Contest brought pop and patriotism to Liverpool on Saturday, with a Swedish diva and a party-loving Finnish rapper among favorites to win a joyous music competition clouded, for a second year running, by the war in Ukraine.
Britain is hosting on behalf of Ukraine, which won last year but can’t take up its right to hold the contest because of the war. Air raid sirens sounded across Ukraine as the contest was underway, and Ukrainian media reported a strike in Ternopil, home town of Ukraine’s Eurovision entry, Tvorchi.
Under the slogan “united by music,” Eurovision final fused the soul of English port city that birthed The Beatles with the spirit of war-battered Ukraine.
The sights and sounds of Ukraine ran through the show, starting with an opening film that showed 2022 Eurovision winners Kalush Orchestra singing and dancing in the Kyiv subway, with the tune picked up by musicians in the U.K. — including Kate, Princess of Wales, shown playing the piano.
The folk-rap band itself then emerged onstage in the Liverpool Arena on a giant pair of outstretched hands, accompanied by massed drummers.
Contestants from the 26 finalist nations entered the arena in an Olympics-style flag parade, accompanied by live performances from Ukrainian acts including Go A, Jamala, Tina Karol and Verka Serduchka — all past Eurovision competitors.
Now in its 67th year, Eurovision bills itself as the world’s biggest music contest — an Olympiad of party-friendly pop. Competitors each have three minutes to meld catchy tunes and eye-popping spectacle into performances capable of winning the hearts of millions of viewers.
The favorites included Swedish singer Loreen – the 2012 Eurovision winner, tipped by the bookies to take the title again with her power ballad “Tattoo” – and Finland’s Käärijä, a performer with Energizer bunny energy and a lurid green bolero top who goes from metal growler to sweet crooner on party anthem “Cha Cha Cha.” The infectious song got one of the biggest sinaglong crowd reactions of the night.
Italy’s Marco Mengoni also had a strong following for “Due Vite” (Two Lives), a seductive ballad with enigmatic lyrics.
Austrian duo Teya & Salena was first to perform with “Who the Hell is Edgar?” — a daffy satirical ode to Edgar Allen Poe that also slams the meagre royalties musicians earn from streaming services.
After that, the varied tastes of the continent were on display: the cabaret-style singing of Portugal’s Mimicat; the Britney-esque power pop of Poland’s Blanka; echoes of Edith Piaf from La Zarra for France; smoldering balladry from Cyprus’ entry, Andrew Lambrou.
Rock was unusually well represented this year at a contest that tends to favor perky pop. Australia’s Voyager evoked head-banging 80s stadium rock on “Promise,” while Slovenia’s Joker Out, Germany’s Lord of the Lost were also guitar-crunching entries.
An offbeat contender was antiwar rock opera “Mama ŠČ!” by Croatia’s Let 3, who mock militarist dictators amid Monty Pythonesque imagery before stripping down to their underpants onstage.
Electronica duo Tvorrchi paid tribute to Ukraine’s resilience on “Heart of Steel.” Britain’s entrant Mae Muller drew the unenviable final performance slot of the night with her jaunty breakup anthem “I Wrote a Song.”
The winner was being decided by Eurovision’s famously complex system of jury and public votes, with each act hoping to escape the humiliation of getting “nul points” — zero points.
While votes were cast and counted, Sam Ryder, last year’s runner-up for Britain, performed his new single “Mountain,” accompanied by Queen drummer Roger Taylor. A “Liverpool Songbook” segment featured past Eurovision stars performing songs from the city, including John Lennon’s “Imagine,” “You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)” by Dead or Alive and the unofficial civic anthem “You’ll Never Walk Alone” — with the audience joining in, as a tribute to both Liverpool and Ukraine.
About 6,000 fans watched the show inside the arena, and tens of thousands more at a Liverpool fan zone and at big-screen events across the U.K. The global television audience has been estimated at 160 million.
Under spring sunshine, fans flocked in their thousands to city’s dockside area — now a vast party zone — near the contest venue ahead of the contest. Many were draped in flags of their favored nations or dressed as their favorite acts.
“Just to come down and see people from all different nationalities, all different cultures — it’s good fun,” said Australia fan Martin Troedel, sporting a kangaroo on his hat.“Frankly there’s some quite odd acts, which is what I love about it. You never…