Kalush Orchestra frontman Oleh Psiuk has said the Ukrainian folk-rap group hope that Ukraine will be able to host the Eurovision Song Contest next year.
The group were triumphant at last year’s competition in Turin, Italy, which would traditionally mean their home country would host the event the following year.
However the UK is hosting the 2023 contest on behalf of the war-torn country after the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) concluded it could not safely organise the event amid the Russian invasion.
Speaking to the PA news agency a year on from the outbreak of war, 28-year-old Psiuk said: “We would very much like this year to finally bring such a long-awaited victory to Ukraine.
“And taking into account the fact that Ukraine is again among the favourites at the Eurovision Song Contest according to bookmakers’ forecasts, there are chances that Ukraine will return the contest to itself in 2024. We hope that we will all celebrate together.”
For 2023, the international music show will take place at the 11,000-capacity Liverpool Arena in May, culminating in the grand final on Saturday 13.
Although pop duo Tvorchi will represent Ukraine at the song contest with their entry Heart of Steel, Kalush Orchestra are also set to give a performance during the show.
When asked about the upcoming competition, Psiuk said: “Of course, we are sad that there is a war going on in our country and we do not have the opportunity to host the competition.
“We believe that after the victory we will definitely be able to do it. We are very pleased that the Eurovision Song Contest will take place in Liverpool.
“Although we’ve never been there, performing where The Beatles themselves started is going to be very inspiring.
“I would also like to see Eurovision 2024 return to Ukraine. We will support and cheer for representatives from Ukraine at this year’s competition.
“We believe that this year the organisers will be able to best convey the Ukrainian atmosphere in the design of this show in Liverpool.”
Reflecting on the past year and the ongoing war, Psiuk added: “The war changed not only our lives, it changed the lives of every Ukrainian and we will definitely not be the same as we were before the war.
“The war showed that every moment is important. Few of us wait for tomorrow if we want to implement something – most try to do it right away.
“Now the Kalush Orchestra tries to give as many concerts as possible abroad, where we collect funds to help Ukraine, both for the armed forces and for the reconstruction of destroyed cultural buildings.
“We began to worry more about the lives of our relatives, constantly in touch with them. Because you don’t know where the enemy missile will fly the next day, and every Ukrainian is now trying to do something for our common victory on his own front.
“And we believe that we will definitely win and it will happen very soon.”
