Loreen has won for a second time (Picture: PA)
The Eurovision Song Contest 2023 is officially over, and the winner has been crowned as next year’s host country is now revealed.
The highly-anticipated song contest arrived in Liverpool this year, as the UK took over hosting duties from 2022 winner’s Kalush Orchestra’s nation Ukraine.
I Wrote A Song singer Mae Muller took to the stage on Saturday night, up against stiff competition from the likes of former Swedish winner Loreen, hoping for a second victory with her song Tattoo.
After 26 countries battling it our for this year’s trophy, with the winner decided by a mix of public votes and those given by juries of experts from each nations, the results are in.
The Grand Final saw a surprise appearance by Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales, a legendary performance by Sam Ryder – which left some fans pretty confused when they thought they misheard him – and Mel Giedroyc absolutely stealing the show.
And after an epic night, the winner has now been revealed to be: Sweden! With Loreen winning for a second time.
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Loreen’s odds to win had been pretty high as soon as she was named Sweden’s entry, 11 years since Euphoria took over the airwaves.
‘I never thought in my wildest dreams that this would be my path,’ she recently admitted to Metro.co.uk.
Her win makes her the second person and first woman to have won Eurovision twice, after Ireland’s Johnny Logan.
Loreen, who was awarded the UK’s 12 points by Catherine Tate, has now brought Eurovision back to Sweden in time for Abba’s 50th anniversary.
Loreen was stunned! (Picture: BBC)
She’s taken home a second win (Picture: PA)
The singer, who previously triumphed in 2012, narrowly beat Finland’s Kaarija after the public and jury votes were combined.
She claimed victory with a total of 583 points to second-placed Finland’s 526.
After her win, she said: ‘This is overwhelming. I’m so happy and I’m so thankful.’
Addressing the crowd, she added: ‘Thank you for this, this is for you.’
Eurovision’s Final Points:
Finland, 526
Israel, 362
Italy, 350
Norway, 268
Ukraine, 243
Belgium, 182
Estonia, 186
Australia, 151
Czechia, 129
Lithuania, 127
Cyprus, 126
Croatia, 123
Armenia, 122
Austria, 120
France, 104
Spain, 100
Moldova, 96
Poland, 93
Switzerland, 92
Slovenia, 78
Albania, 76
Portugal, 59
Serbia, 30
United Kingdom, 24
Germany, 18
Ted Lasso and West End star Hannah Waddingham joined Britain’s Got Talent judge and pop star Alesha Dixon and Ukrainian singer Julia Sanina as they shared hosting duties on the main stage.
Meanwhile, Graham Norton was on hand to provide his usual hilarious (and often brutal) commentary, while Scott Mills and Rylan Clark also kept us updated during the semi-finals.
UK entry Mae came second from last, with a total of 24 points.
Ahead of taking to the stage, Mae, 25, reflected on the ‘whirlwind’ past months since she’d been announced as the UK’s entry.
The UK’s entry wrote that she is ‘forever grateful’ ahead of her performance (Picture: AP)
Taking to Instagram just hours before her performance, Mae wrote: ‘I can’t believe we made it to May 13th.
‘The last 3 months have been a whirlwind.
‘We laughed we cried & everything in between but I wouldn’t change a single second, and none of it would be even remotely achievable without the people around me and the ESC community.
‘You guys embraced me with open arms and I’m forever grateful.
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‘Tonight is the night & I just hope I can do all of you proud, but whatever the outcome, thank you, thank you, thank you 💘 Eurovision you have a place in my heart forever.’
Speaking about her upcoming performance in the Song Contest, Mae recently told Metro.co.uk that she’s going in with a ‘positive’ feeling.
‘I really believe in the song, and I feel like we’ve all worked really, really hard on the show, so I think we’ve got a really good chance of doing well,’ she said.
Ahead of the Grand Final, 2022 winners Kalush Orchestra told Metro.co.uk that they had ‘deep gratitude’ to the UK for hosting, following President Volodymyr Zelensky saying he wishes that a country sharing a border with Ukraine had been chosen.
President Zelensky would have preferred the competition took place closer to Ukraine (Picture: EPA)
He explained: ‘From the very start my opinion has been that if we can’t host Eurovision then it should take place in one of the countries that share a border with us such as Slovakia, Poland or any other country our people can reach easily. Somewhere nearby.’
In the interview for public service broadcasters including the BBC he added: ‘The main thing is that the contest is taking place. Let the people show their talent.’
Metro.co.uk spoke with Kalush Orchestra’s frontman Oleh Psiuk through a translator, who told us that he doesn’t entirely agree.
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‘Of course, we would have liked to host Eurovision in our country, but being safe is the most important thing.
‘And so for this reason, we think that the UK hosting Eurovision this year is good.’
The Eurovision Song Contest is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.
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