Eurovision Song Contest

It took over 26 hours to travel from Kiev to Malmo, a journey Ukraine's Eurovision contestants say was imperative to make their country "visible" in the song contest overshadowed by Israel's participation.

The Eurovision Song Contest, a music kitsch-fest watched by some 200 million people, kicks off in Malmö, Sweden, on Sunday with its "turquoise carpet" gala, in what fans say is a wide-open year with half a dozen countries having a shot at the title.

The world's biggest live music event, Eurovision Song Contest, will take place in Sweden in the second week of May with 37 participating countries.

Roughly 100,000 visitors from 89 countries are expected in host city Malmö during the week for the 68th edition of the competition.

Greece's entry for the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest, titled "Zari," has been officially unveiled. The song, an uplifting fusion of traditional, modern, and ethnographic elements performed by Marina Satti, was released on Thursday evening on the 37-year-old artist's YouTube account.

Israel can compete in this year's Eurovision Song Contest, organizers said on Feb. 15, despite calls for it to be excluded over the Gaza war like Russia was after invading Ukraine.

The southern Swedish city of Malmo has been chosen to host the 2024 Eurovision Song contest on May 7-11, Swedish public broadcaster STV has said.

"Malmo is a creative city with a rich cultural life that can provide a music festival for the whole of Europe," said STV director general Hanne Stjarne.

Eurovision has a huge following in Sweden.

Slovenian indie pop band Joker Out have finished 21st at the Eurovision song contest, a result the band, though thrilled by the show and the experience, describes as disappointing.

The band got 78 points, 45 from juries and 33 from the televote, to place just ahead of Albania among the 26 entries in Saturday's final.

The representative of Sweden - Loreen won the Eurovision Song Contest, which was held in the British city of Liverpool, the Eurovision website announced.

Sweden won the Eurovision Song Contest early Sunday, as singer Loreen beat out 25 competitors in the finale of the world's biggest live music event, hosted by Britain on behalf of war-torn Ukraine.

A previous victor in 2012, Loreen is the first woman to win the eccentric, much-loved competition twice and only the second person to do so after Johnny Logan for Ireland in the 1980s.

The Eurovision Song Contest will have Ukrainian flags, Ukrainian musicians and Ukrainian fans but not the country's wartime leader.

Organizers rejected a request from President Volodymyr Zelensky to make a video address to the final of the pan-continental music competition on May 12. He was expected to urge the world continue its support for Ukraine's fight to repel Russian invasion.