Sweden’s Loreen Wins Eurovision Song Contest for Historic Second Time – Loreen, also known as Lorine Zineb Nora Talhaoui, has achieved a rare feat in the Eurovision Song Contest. She won the competition for the second time, with her ballad “Tattoo” earning 583 points across the board during the Grand Final held in Liverpool, England last weekend. This makes her the first female performer to ever win the Eurovision Song Contest twice. Loreen’s previous victory in the competition was in 2012.
Although Irish artist Johnny Logan won the Eurovision Song Contest twice in 1980 and 1987, Loreen’s double win has made history as the first female performer to achieve this feat. Loreen, who is 39 years old, competed against 25 other countries and emerged as the winner, with Finland’s Käärijä earning 526 points and Israel’s Noa Kirel coming in third with 362 points. As a result of Loreen’s victory, it is expected that next year’s competition will be held in Sweden.
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The winner of the Eurovision Song Contest in the previous year was the Kalush Orchestra from Ukraine. However, due to the safety concerns arising from the Russian invasion, Ukraine was unable to host this year’s competition, which is usually held in the winner’s home country. As a result, the U.K. hosted the event on behalf of Ukraine.
“The only thing I feel right now is so much love. Not in my wildest dreams did I think this was going to happen,” Loreen said after her win, per Billboard. Now with seven all-time Eurovision wins, Sweden ties Ireland for the most in the competition’s 67-year history. ABBA was the first Swedish group to win back in 1974 for their song “Waterloo.” In this year’s competition, there were a number of special guests, one of whom was Kate Middleton, aged 41. She made a contribution to the opening sequence film by performing a brief instrumental piano piece.
At the Maidan Nezalezhnosti metro station in Kyiv, Ukraine, Kate Middleton performed with last year’s winners, the Kalush Orchestra, as they played their winning song “Stefania”. The performance was put together by composers, arrangers, and musical directors Joe Price and Kojo Samuel, and it was recorded in May at the Crimson Drawing Room of Windsor Castle. Other British musicians who participated in the ensemble performance included Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber, Sam Ryder, Ms. Banks, Ballet Black, Bolt Strings, and Joss Stone.
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Additionally, King Charles and Queen Camilla attended this year’s competition and visited the M&S Bank Arena in late April to check on the preparations. During their visit, Charles, aged 74, and Camilla, aged 75, met with BBC executives, production staff, and apprentices, and also took a backstage tour. They also unveiled the stage for this year’s competition.
