photo: dim suspilnoho
After the song contest «Eurovision – 2022», Ukrainians were outraged that their national jury gave 0 points to the singer Ochman, a representative of Poland. Most Ukrainian spectators point out that while Poland, as well as the Baltic states, are perhaps Ukraine’s most loyal partners in the fight against the Russian aggressor, our jury members failed to support them with a single point.
Previously, bookmakers predicted the Pole 6th place in the competition, but in the final standings, he became 12th.
Who were the jury members from Ukraine and how did they vote?
The jury from Ukraine included: Vadym Lysytsia (chairman of the jury, producer, and sound director), Andrii Kapral (singer, soloist of the vocal formation «Pikkardiyska tertsiya»), Iryna Fedyshyn (singer), Andrii Yatskiv (conductor, holder of a «Grammy» award for the best soundtrack for «Chornobyl» serial) and Lukyan Halkin (film critic, lecturer at the Karpenko-Kary National University of Theater, Film and Television, executive producer of «UA: KULTURA» TV channel).
The results were announced by the soloist of «Go_A», Kateryna Pavlenko, who with the band last year took 5th place at the «Eurovision» from Ukraine.
How do they explain their assessment?
Jury Chairman, Vadym Lysytsia, says he’s ready to be responsible for judges’ choices this year, and explains the procedure that each of them voted for.
«The whole voting process took place under the close supervision of a lawyer, all members of the jury got acquainted with the voting rules in advance. No jury member, let alone the chairman, had any opportunity to influence each other’s decisions. Therefore, Poland and other countries received the same marks they deserved, according to each of the judges. Nobody was paid for it. No one had any preferences or other incentives. If you want to be a judge next time, contact the Public Broadcaster,» – he said.
Lysytsia adds that we are and will be forever grateful to the Polish people for humanitarian, military and financial assistance to Ukraine. However, according to him, these are not related things. Iryna Lysytsia also defended her husband, but as of 1 pm May 16, their Facebook pages are closed.
Iryna Fedyshyn, a singer from Lviv, writes that the situation with Poland is unpleasant not only for Ukrainians who have shaken the network, but also for her, and if she was on the side of the audience vote, she would be similarly angry.
«Despite the fact that Eurovision is still an alleged apolitical competition, it’s difficult to turn away when your country is at war, and Poland is helping you the most. When I saw such results, it was just the same shock for me. Each jury member did not know how many points, to whom and by whom were given, because everyone put points on his own in the form and had no right to discuss it, because it is legally recorded under the supervision of a notary and prosecuted. Then, all the points are summed up in numbers by the organizers,» – says the singer. 
Even though the jury’s votes cannot be made public and they can be fined for it, she attached a photo of her own questionnaire, which allegedly shows how many points Poland received from Fedyshyn personally. After that, the singer was attacked even more, because it turned out that the jury at «Eurovision» have put not points but ranks, which users on social networks also noticed. That is, rank 1 is the best song, according to the judge, and 24 is the worst (the total figure is 24, because the participating countries are 25, but you can not vote for your country). Therefore, Iryna Fedyshyn ranked the song from Poland in 10th place, which indicates that she either did not understand the voting system or was trying to justify herself.
Another jury member from Lviv, Andrii Kapral, says that when he went to the polls, he was aware that such a situation could happen, because the evaluation of performers is not discussed by the jury members. He says that he is ashamed because he is not a politician and at the same time he is hurt because he is a human.
«It is difficult to choose when there are many who have reached out to help you. Poland, Great Britain, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Romania! I also have consciousness, patriotism and heart! You write about bribery – forget it, my choice became my court, although I gave Poland 7th place out of 24. I don’t know how the points are processed. Believe me, I did not want to offend the Poles, I can apologize, I want to and I will, and your anger is greater than forgiveness,» – he told Ukrainians.
Voting rules
The national jury of each Eurovision member state votes during the dress rehearsals the day before the first or second semifinal and final. The audience votes live after all performances.
According to the table, our jury supported the United Kingdom the most, giving it 12 points. Poland, Lithuania, Romania, which support Ukraine because of the war, were not given a single point. At the same time, Ukrainians, who voted during the live broadcast, gave the highest score to the participant from Poland.
Voting results of the Ukrainian jury and Ukrainian viewers in the final of Eurovision-2022
Reaction of the Ministry of Culture
The Minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine, Oleksandr Tkachenko, said that it was a shame to put «zero» for Poles and Lithuanians, when Ukrainians gave them the highest scores.
«I would like to address our closest friends in Europe and express my personal position on the evaluation given by the jury from Ukraine to Poland and Lithuania. This assessment in no way reflects our real attitude towards you, our closest friends in Europe,» – he said.
The support of Ukraine, from Poland and Lithuania in particular, is invaluable. Our gratitude and commitment to you is the same, he continues. He thanked the Polish and Lithuanian peoples, and called Ukraine’s success at Eurovision a joint victory – both at Eurovision and the one over the enemy.
It will be recalled that the Ukrainian band «Kalush Orchestra» with the song «Stefania» won the Eurovision Song Contest this year. The total score from the honorary jury of countries and spectators for them is 631.
Who actually is Stefania?
The song of «Kalush Orchestra» is an ode to the mother, in which the author talks about his fond memories of her. Initially, the soloist and founder of the band, Oleh Psyuk, dedicated the composition to his mother, Stephania. It was she who stood behind the scenes during Ukraine’s national selection for Eurovision and cried during the boys’ performance.
In fact, Oleh Psyuk’s mother’s name is Stefania – with an emphasis on the second syllable. In her youth, she worked at a chemical plant, and now is a saleswoman in a shop. Now, in the story for a TV channel TSN, she shared that she is embarrassed by her son’s fans when they ask her to take a photo with her. For 60-year-old Stephania, her son’s repertoire is something new, she especially likes his songs with ethnic inserts. At the same time, the mother will never reconcile with the way he dresses.
The composition tells about the mother’s ageing and how nostalgic the past is. After that, the song is about the difficulties in the relationship with his mother and the soloist’s realization of how much she has done for him. «Lullaby» at the end of each rap poem takes the narrator back to the time when the soloist was taken care of by his mother.
«It’s a song about my mother. I’ve never dedicated a song to her, and I’m totally not sure if our relationship has been so close. But I know she definitely deserves this song she hasn’t even heard before! This is the best thing I’ve ever done for her,» – says the band’s frontman.
At the same time, with the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, the song «Stefania» became a symbol that represents our homeland, including all mothers who protect their children. On May 15, the Kalush Orchestra presented a video for the victory song, which gathered footage from the destroyed cities near Kyiv – Irpen, Bucha, Hostomel. Footage from the Lviv railway station was also included in the video.
We will add that one of Kalush bakeries even named cookies in honour of Stephania. And the Ukrainian railway «Ukrzaliznytsia» has announced that the Kyiv-Ivano-Frankivsk train will be called «Stefania Express.»
Translated by Vitalii Holich
Photo: screenshots from the official Eurovision website
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