Ukraine’s Eurovision entry, Kalush Orchestra, has returned home to a hero’s welcome with the band’s frontman saying he could sell the trophy to raise money for the war effort.
The band was greeted at the Polish border by service personnel on Monday, and frontman Oleh Psiuk was presented with a bouquet of yellow and blue flowers - the colours of Ukraine’s flag - and reunited with his girlfriend.
The band launched into an impromptu version of ‘Stefania’, their winning song, after which Ukraine has named a train route in celebration of their Eurovision victory.
Their win provided a morale boost to Ukrainian forces, who have been battling Russia’s unprovoked invasion of their country for nearly three months.
As the band ended their performance on Saturday, Psiuk had made a plea to the world to “please help Mariupol, help Azovstal right now”.
"Eurovision is a very important thing, especially this year. But the life of so many people, this is much more important," Psiuk said at the border.
Psiuk said he hoped to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for the war effort by selling the trophy.
"There are people who are simply ready to donate. This is simply to motivate them a bit more. They may own this trophy. Someone might think it is cool to have a Eurovision 2022 winner’s statuette at home," he said.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was quick to offer congratulations on Saturday, and residents of the town that bears the band’s name - about three hours by car southeast of the settlement of Krakovets, where they crossed back into Ukraine - were overjoyed.
“I love my Kalush. My wife and I have been watching until 1 a.m. And we were happy to win. I was jumping. I was in seventh heaven," said 74-year-old Kalush resident Petro Yugan on Sunday.
“But I also want us to end the war as fast as possible, and it would be an even bigger victory.”
Kalush Orchestra were clear favourites during Saturday’s finale, in part due to widespread solidarity for Ukraine following Russia’s invasion in February.
The act took a stunning 439 votes from the public which, combined with jury votes from competing countries, catapulted them to an unassailable lead in the contest.
‘Stefania’, was conceived as a tribute sung in Ukrainian to Psiuk’s mother, but its lyrics had taken on additional significance since Russia’s invasion.
In a moment of joy, Timur Miroshnychenko, Ukraine’s answer to Graham Norton, was seen reacting from a bomb shelter as the country won the competition.
The UK’s Sam Ryder placed second for his effort, ‘Space Man’, the UK’s best performance in the song contest since the late 1990s.
