2 months ago

Dates: Semi-final 1: 10 May 2022 - Semi-final 2: 12 May 2022 - Final: 14 May 2022
Host venue: PalaOlimpico, Turin, Italy
Presenters: Alessandro Cattelan, Laura Pausini, Mika
Directed by: Cristian Biondani, Duccio Forzano - Executive supervisor: Martin Österdahl
Executive producers: Claudio Fasulo, Simona Martorelli - Host broadcaster: Radiotelevisione italiana (RAI)

The Eurovision Song Contest 2022 was the 66th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Turin, Italy, following the country's victory at the 2021 contest with the song "Zitti e buoni" by Måneskin. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Radiotelevisione italiana (RAI), the contest was held at the PalaOlimpico, and consisted of two semi-finals on 10 and 12 May, and a final on 14 May 2022. The three live shows were presented by Italian television presenter Alessandro Cattelan, Italian singer Laura Pausini and Lebanese-born British singer Mika.

Forty countries participated in the contest, with Armenia and Montenegro returning after their absence from the previous edition. Russia had originally planned to participate, but was excluded due to its invasion of Ukraine.

The winner was Ukraine with the song "Stefania", performed by Kalush Orchestra and written by the group's members Ihor Didenchuk, Oleh Psiuk, Tymofii Muzychuk and Vitalii Duzhyk, along with Ivan Klymenko. The United Kingdom finished in second place for a record-extending sixteenth time, also achieving its best result since 1998. Spain, Sweden and Serbia rounded out the top five, with Spain achieving its best result since 1995. Ukraine won the televote with 439 points, the most received in the contest's history to date, and came fourth in the jury vote behind the United Kingdom, Sweden and Spain. "Stefania" is the first song sung entirely in Ukrainian and the first song with hip-hop elements to win the contest.

The Italian government allocated around €1.5 million as part of the budget needed to host the event, while the municipality of Turin and the regional government of Piedmont contributed around €10 million in total. The preliminary total budget for the shows was €16.3 million. The full costs was not officially published, but is estimated to be at approximately €22 million.

The EBU reported that the contest had a television audience of 161 million viewers in 34 European markets, a decrease of 22 million viewers from the previous edition, however, it is noted that this is due to the exclusion of Russia and the lack of audience figures from Ukraine, with the overall figures up by 7 million viewers in a comparable market from 2021. An increase of three per cent in the 15–24 year old age range was also reported. A total of 18 million viewers watched the contest online on YouTube and TikTok.

Final

The final took place on 14 May 2022 at 21:00 (CEST). Twenty-five countries participated in the final, with all forty participating countries eligible to vote. The running order for the final was published on 13 May 2022. Ukraine won with 631 points, also winning the televote. The United Kingdom came second with 466 points and won the jury vote, with Spain, Sweden, Serbia, Italy, Moldova, Greece, Portugal, and Norway completing the top ten. Finland, the Czech Republic, Iceland, France, and Germany occupied the bottom five positions.

The final was opened by the Rockin'1000 performing "Give Peace a Chance" and co-presenter Laura Pausini performing a medley of "Benvenuto", "Io canto", "La solitudine", "Le cose che vivi" and "Scatola", followed by the traditional flag parade, introducing all twenty-five finalists. The interval acts included Måneskin performing their new single "Supermodel" and "If I Can Dream", Gigliola Cinquetti performing her winning song "Non ho l'età", and co-presenter Mika performing a medley of "Love Today", "Grace Kelly", his new single "Yo Yo" and "Happy Ending". Astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti also appeared in a pre-recorded message from the International Space Station.

Participants and results of the final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2022

R/O Country Artist Song Points Place

1 Czech Republic We Are Domi "Lights Off" 38 22
2 Romania Wrs "Llámame" 65 18
3 Portugal Maro "Saudade, saudade" 207 9
4 Finland The Rasmus "Jezebel" 38 21
5 Switzerland Marius Bear "Boys Do Cry" 78 17
6 France Alvan and Ahez "Fulenn" 17 24
7 Norway Subwoolfer "Give That Wolf a Banana" 182 10
8 Armenia Rosa Linn "Snap" 61 20
9 Italy Mahmood and Blanco "Brividi" 268 6
10 Spain Chanel "SloMo" 459 3
11 Netherlands S10 "De diepte" 171 11
12 Ukraine Kalush Orchestra "Stefania" 631 1
13 Germany Malik Harris "Rockstars" 6 25
14 Lithuania Monika Liu "Sentimentai" 128 14
15 Azerbaijan Nadir Rustamli "Fade to Black" 106 16
16 Belgium Jérémie Makiese "Miss You" 64 19
17 Greece Amanda Georgiadi Tenfjord "Die Together" 215 8
18 Iceland Systur "Með hækkandi sól" 20 23
19 Moldova Zdob și Zdub and Advahov Brothers "Trenulețul" 253 7
20 Sweden Cornelia Jakobs "Hold Me Closer" 438 4
21 Australia Sheldon Riley "Not the Same" 125 15
22 United Kingdom Sam Ryder "Space Man" 466 2
23 Poland Ochman "River" 151 12
24 Serbia Konstrakta "In corpore sano" 312 5
25 Estonia Stefan "Hope" 141 13