Ukrainian singer Jamala has been given a rapturous welcome home after her surprise weekend victory in Stockholm at this year’s Eurovision Song
ADVERTISEMENTUkrainian singer Jamala has been given a rapturous welcome home after her surprise weekend victory in Stockholm at this year’s Eurovision Song contest.
Euronews reporter Dmytro Polonsky talked of “great excitement among the dozens of journalists who had waited for hours to greet the singer”. There were also hundreds of her fans and supporters at the arrivals gate hoping to congratulate her.
Eurovision win lifts spirits in Ukraine, raises eyebrows in Russia https://t.co/SZufR1c5jA
— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) May 15, 2016
The winning song, a ballad called “1944” about war-time deportations of Crimean Tatars by the Soviet Union is widely seen as a swipe at Moscow over its annexation of the peninsula in 2014.
An official from an organisation representing the Crimean-Tartar People, Refat Chubarov, described the significance of the victory as being huge not only for Crimea and the Crimean-Tatar people. “Ukraine has now got the whole world’s understanding thanks to Jamala’s victory,” he said.
Jamala, herself a Tatar, called for “peace and love to everyone” when collecting the the trophy ahead of Australia in second place and Russia in third.
#Jamala will receive People's Artist of Ukraine title – Minister of Culturehttps://t.co/GVxqXJ2IqMpic.twitter.com/LXdd9WFUV0
— UKRAINE TODAY (@uatodaytv) May 15, 2016