# Ukraine in the Eurovision Song Contest

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Ukraine has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 19 times since making its debut in 2003. The current Ukrainian participant broadcaster in the contest is the Public Broadcasting Company of Ukraine (UA:PBC/Suspilne), which has selected its entrant with the national competition Vidbir in recent years. Ukraine has won the contest three times: in 2004 with "Wild Dances" by Ruslana, in 2016 with "1944" by Jamala, and in 2022 with "Stefania" by Kalush Orchestra, thus becoming the first country in the 21st century and the first Eastern European country to win the contest three times. The 2005 and 2017 contests were held in Kyiv, while the 2023 contest was held in Liverpool, United Kingdom, due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Since the introduction of the semi-final round in 2004, Ukraine is one of the only two countries outside of the "Big Five" to have qualified for the final of every contest they have competed, and has been placed outside the top-ten only six times. Ukraine has a total of nine top-five placements, with "Dancing Lasha Tumbai" by Verka Serduchka (2007) and "Shady Lady" by Ani Lorak (2008) both finishing second, "Gravity" by Zlata Ognevich (2013) as well as "Teresa & Maria" by Alyona Alyona and Jerry Heil (2024) third, "Angel" by Mika Newton fourth (2011), and "Shum" by Go_A fifth (2021), in addition to its wins. The only countries with more top-five results in the 21st century are Sweden (13) and Russia (10).

## History

The National Television Company of Ukraine (NTU) was a full member of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) since 1 January 1993, thus eligible to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest since then. It participated in the contest representing Ukraine since its 48th edition in 2003. Since 2017, its successor, the Public Broadcasting Company of Ukraine (UA:PBC/Suspilne), is the participant broadcaster representing Ukraine.
NTU made its debut in the contest in 2003, when it finished in 14th place with the song "Hasta la vista" performed by Oleksandr Ponomariov.
Ukraine won the contest at the second attempt in 2004, with the song "Wild Dances" by Ruslana, defeating second-placed Serbia and Montenegro by 17 points, 280 to 263. In 2016, Ukraine became the first Eastern European country to win the contest twice, when "1944" by Jamala won. The televote was won by Russia and the jury vote by Australia; Ukraine was second in both, but won with an overall total of 534 points, with Australia second with 511 points and Russia third with 491 points. In 2017, Ukraine was pre-qualified for the final as hosts, however it achieved its worst result to date – 24th place with 36 points.
Ukraine was absent twice from the contest, in 2015 and 2019, for reasons related to the ongoing war with Russia:
* NTU sat out the 2015 contest because of financial difficulties in relation to the war in Donbas. However, Ukraine broadcast the contest despite not taking part. NTU pledged to bring Ukraine back to the contest for 2016, which was finalized and announced on 16 September 2015.
* Vidbir, the Ukrainian national selection for the 2019 contest, was won by Maruv with "Siren Song". However, UA:PBC required any potential representative in the contest to sign a contract which would forbid them from performing in Russia. The winner Maruv, as well as runners-up Freedom Jazz, Kazka and Brunettes Shoot Blondes, all refused to sign the contract, leading to Ukraine's withdrawal from the contest on 27 February.
In 2020, Go_A won the national selection Vidbir and was set to represent Ukraine with the song "Solovey", before the contest was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They were instead internally selected to represent the country the following year with the song "Shum", with which they finished in fifth place. After the contest, "Shum" entered the Billboard Global 200 at position 158, becoming the first ever Ukrainian-language song to chart there. Ukraine won the contest for a third time in 2022, with the song "Stefania" performed by Kalush Orchestra. "Stefania" later went on to surpass the peak of "Shum" on the Billboard Global 200, charting at position 85.
Since the introduction of the semi-final round in 2004, Ukraine is the only country to have qualified for the final of every edition it has competed in (they were absent from the 2015 and 2019 contests). Ukraine has a total of 11 top-ten placements (among those are eight top-five placements). Ukraine's participation and success in the contest has been acknowledged as a factor in the country's growing soft power and international image. This view is shared by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who has supported the country's continued participation following the Russian invasion as a way to promote the Ukrainian national cause internationally.

## Participation overview

The following lists Ukraine's entries in the Eurovision Song Contest along with their result.
| Year | Artist | Song | Language | Final | Points | Semi | Points |
| 2003 | Oleksandr Ponomariov | "Hasta la vista" | English | 14 | 30 | No semi-finals | No semi-finals |
| 2004 | Ruslana | "Wild Dances" | English, Ukrainian | 1 | 280 | 2 | 256 |
| 2005 | GreenJolly | "Razom nas bahato" (Разом нас багато) | Ukrainian, English | 19 | 30 | Host country | Host country |
| 2006 | Tina Karol | "Show Me Your Love" | English | 7 | 145 | 7 | 146 |
| 2007 | Verka Serduchka | "Dancing Lasha Tumbai" | English, German, Surzhyk | 2 | 235 | Top 10 in 2006 final | Top 10 in 2006 final |
| 2008 | Ani Lorak | "Shady Lady" | English | 2 | 230 | 1 | 152 |
| 2009 | Svetlana Loboda | "Be My Valentine! (Anti-Crisis Girl)" | English | 12 | 76 | 6 | 80 |
| 2010 | Alyosha | "Sweet People" | English | 10 | 108 | 7 | 77 |
| 2011 | Mika Newton | "Angel" | English | 4 | 159 | 6 | 81 |
| 2012 | Gaitana | "Be My Guest" | English | 15 | 65 | 8 | 64 |
| 2013 | Zlata Ognevich | "Gravity" | English | 3 | 214 | 3 | 140 |
| 2014 | Mariya Yaremchuk | "Tick-Tock" | English | 6 | 113 | 5 | 118 |
| 2016 | Jamala | "1944" | English, Crimean Tatar | 1 | 534 | 2 | 287 |
| 2017 | O.Torvald | "Time" | English | 24 | 36 | Host country | Host country |
| 2018 | Mélovin | "Under the Ladder" | English | 17 | 130 | 6 | 179 |
| 2020 | Go_A | "Solovey" (Соловей) | Ukrainian | Contest cancelled X | Contest cancelled X | Contest cancelled X | Contest cancelled X |
| 2021 | Go_A | "Shum" (Шум) | Ukrainian | 5 | 364 | 2 | 267 |
| 2022 | Kalush Orchestra | "Stefania" (Стефанія) | Ukrainian | 1 | 631 | 1 | 337 |
| 2023 | Tvorchi | "Heart of Steel" | English, Ukrainian | 6 | 243 | Automatically qualified | Automatically qualified |
| 2024 | Alyona Alyona and Jerry Heil | "Teresa & Maria" | Ukrainian, English | 3 | 453 | 2 | 173 |
| 2025 | Ziferblat | "Bird of Pray" | Ukrainian, English | Upcoming † | Upcoming † | Upcoming † | Upcoming † |

## Selection process

| Year | Selection process | Channel |
| 2003 | Internal selection | NTU |
| 2004 | Internal selection | NTU |
| 2005 | National final with 79 participants | NTU |
| 2006 | National final with 3 participants | NTU |
| 2007 | National final with 7 participants | NTU |
| 2008 | Internal selection for artist; national final with 5 songs | NTU |
| 2009 | National final with 31 participants | NTU |
| 2010 | Internal selection for artist; national final with 5 songs; winning song of the first national final continued onto a second national final with 20 participants | NTU |
| 2011 | National final with 31 participants | NTU |
| 2012 | Online vote with 4 songs; national final with 21 participants | NTU |
| 2013 | National final with 20 participants | NTU |
| 2014 | National final with 20 participants | NTU |
| Year | Selection process | Channel |
| 2016 | Vidbir with 18 participants | NTU STB |
| 2017 | Vidbir with 24 participants | UA:PBC STB |
| 2018 | Vidbir with 18 participants | UA:PBC STB |
| 2019 | Vidbir with 16 participants | UA:PBC STB |
| 2020 | Vidbir with 16 participants | UA:PBC STB |
| 2021 | Internal selection | UA:PBC STB |
| 2022 | Vidbir with 8 participants | UA:PBC |
| 2023 | Vidbir with 10 participants | UA:PBC |
| 2024 | Vidbir with 11 participants | UA:PBC |
| 2025 | Vidbir with 10 participants | UA:PBC |

## Hostings

| Year | Location | Venue | Presenters |
| 2005 | Kyiv | Palace of Sports | Maria Efrosinina and Pavlo Shylko |
| 2017 | Kyiv | International Exhibition Centre | Volodymyr Ostapchuk, Oleksandr Skichko and Timur Miroshnychenko |
Following its victory in 2022, Ukraine was initially given the opportunity to host the 2023 contest, however, the EBU later decided that the country would not be able to host due to security concerns caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, making Ukraine the first country since Israel in 1979 to win the contest but not host it the following year. The 2022 runner-up, the United Kingdom, hosted the 2023 contest on Ukraine's behalf, and Ukraine was granted automatic qualification for the final.

## Awards
### Marcel Bezençon Awards

| Year | Category | Song | Performer | Final | Points | Host city |
| 2004 | Artistic Award | "Wild Dances" | Ruslana | 1 | 280 | Istanbul |
| 2007 | Press Award | "Dancing Lasha Tumbai" | Verka Serduchka | 2 | 235 | Helsinki |
| 2008 | Artistic Award | "Shady Lady" | Ani Lorak | 2 | 230 | Belgrade |
| 2016 | Artistic Award | "1944" | Jamala | 1 | 534 | Stockholm |

### Barbara Dex Award

| Year | Performer | Host city | Ref. |
| 2007 | Verka Serduchka | Helsinki | |

## Related involvement
### Heads of delegation

Each participating broadcaster in the Eurovision Song Contest assigns a head of delegation as the EBU's contact person and the leader of their delegation at the event. The delegation, whose size can greatly vary, includes a head of press, the performers, songwriters, composers, and backing vocalists, among others.
| Year | Head of delegation |
| 2004 | Pavlo Grytsak |
| 2007–2016 | Victoria Romanova |
| 2017–present | Oksana Skybinska |

### Jury members

Each participating broadcaster assembles a five-member jury panel consisting of music industry professionals for the semi-finals and final of the Eurovision Song Contest, ranking all entries except for their own. The juries' votes constitute 50% of the overall result alongside televoting.
| Year | First member | Second member | Third member | Fourth member | Fifth member |
| 2009 | Roman Nedzelskiy | Oleksandr Ponomaryov | Irena Zagorodnyuk | Iryna Rozental | Oleksandr Zlotnyk |
| 2014 | Oleksandr Zlotnyk | Kateryna Komar | Kostiantyn Mishukov | Alla Popova | Olena Valovyk |
| 2016 | Oleksandr Ksenofontov | Maria Burmaka | Valentin Koval | Valeria Chachibaya | Andre France |
| 2017 | Yurii Rybchynsky | Illaria | Serhiy Grachov | Yana Pryadko | Serhiy Gagarin |
| 2018 | Vitaliy Klimov | Denys Zhupnyk | Arthur Danielyan | Alla Moskovka | Khrystyna Soloviy |
| 2021 | Oleksandr Ponomaryov | Illaria | Igor Kondratiuk | Alla Moskovka | Alyona Alyona |
| 2022 | Andriy Yatskiv | Andriy Kapral | Iryna Fedyshyn | Lukian Halkin | Vadim Lysycia |
| 2023 | Oleksandr Sydorenko | Svitlana Tarabarova | Antonina Matviyenko | Oleh Sobchuk | Evgeny Khmara |
| 2024 | Alyosha | Iryna Horova | Kostiantyn Tomilchenko | Maksim Nahorniak | Olena Koliadenko |

### Commentators and spokespersons

| Year | NTU/UA:PBC commentator | STB commentator | Radio commentator | Spokesperson |
| 2002 | Pavlo Shylko, Mariya Orlova | No broadcast | No broadcast | Did not participate |
| 2003 | Pavlo Shylko, Dmytro Kryzhanivskyi | No broadcast | No broadcast | Lyudmyla Hariv |
| 2004 | Rodion Pryntsevskyi | No broadcast | No broadcast | Pavlo Shylko |
| 2005 | Yaroslav Chornenkyi | No broadcast | Galyna Babiy | Mariya Orlova |
| 2006 | Pavlo Shylko | No broadcast | No broadcast | Igor Posypaiko |
| 2007 | Timur Miroshnychenko | No broadcast | No broadcast | Kateryna Osadcha |
| 2008 | Timur Miroshnychenko | No broadcast | No broadcast | Marysya Horobets |
| 2009 | Timur Miroshnychenko | No broadcast | No broadcast | Marysya Horobets |
| 2010 | Timur Miroshnychenko | No broadcast | No broadcast | Iryna Zhuravska |
| 2011 | Timur Miroshnychenko, Tetiana Terekhova | No broadcast | Olena Zelinchenko | Ruslana |
| 2012 | Timur Miroshnychenko, Tetiana Terekhova | No broadcast | Olena Zelinchenko | Oleksiy Matias |
| 2013 | Timur Miroshnychenko, Tetiana Terekhova | No broadcast | Olena Zelinchenko | Oleksiy Matias |
| 2014 | Timur Miroshnychenko, Tetiana Terekhova | No broadcast | Olena Zelinchenko | Zlata Ognevich |
| 2015 | Timur Miroshnychenko, Tetiana Terekhova | No broadcast | No broadcast | Did not participate |
| 2016 | Timur Miroshnychenko, Tetiana Terekhova | No broadcast | Olena Zelinchenko | Verka Serduchka |
| 2017 | Tetiana Terekhova, Andrii Horodyskyi | No broadcast | Olena Zelinchenko | Zlata Ognevich |
| 2018 | Timur Miroshnychenko (all shows) Mariya Yaremchuk (semi-final 1) Alyosha (semi-final 2) Jamala (final) | Serhiy Prytula | Olena Zelinchenko | Nata Zhyzhchenko |
| 2019 | Timur Miroshnychenko | Serhiy Prytula | No broadcast | Did not participate |
| 2021 | Timur Miroshnychenko | Serhiy Prytula | Olena Zelinchenko (UR1) Anna Zakletska, Dmytro Zakharchenko (Radio Promin) | Tayanna |
| 2022 | Timur Miroshnychenko | No broadcast | Timur Miroshnychenko (semi-finals) Anna Zakletska, Dmytro Zakharchenko (final) | Kateryna Pavlenko |
| 2023 | Timur Miroshnychenko | No broadcast | Oleksandra Franko, Oleksandr Barbelen | Zlata Ognevich |
| 2024 | Timur Miroshnychenko (all shows) Vasyl Baidak [uk] (final) | No broadcast | Dmytro Zakharchenko, Lesia Antypenko | Jamala |
Stage directors
Year
Stage director(s)
Ref.
2005
Kostiantyn Tomilchenko
2008
Fokas Evangelinos
2009
Alan Badoev
2011
Anatolii Zalevskyi
2012
Olha Semeshkina
2013
Maksym Lytvynov
2014
Olena Koliadenko
2016
Kostyantyn Tomilchenko [uk] and Oleksandr Bratkovskyi
2018
Kostyantyn Tomilchenko and Oleksandr Bratkovskyi
2021
Kostyantyn Tomilchenko and Oleksandr Bratkovskyi
2022
Oleksii Zhembrovskyi
2023
Oleh Bodnarchuk
2024
Tanu Muino
Costume designers
Year
Costume designers
Ref.
2004
Roksolana Bogutska
2005
Liliia Litkovska
2006
Victoria Hres
2007
Anzhela Lysytsia
2008
Roberto Cavalli
2009
Svetlana Loboda
2010
Liliia Litkovska
2011
Olga Navrodska
2012
Liliia Litkovska
2013
Olena Reva
2014
Hanna Osmekhina
2016
Ivan Frolov
2021
Dmytro Kuriata
2023
Ivan Frolov
2024
Margarita Shekel :

## Photo gallery

* Ruslana performing "Wild Dances" in Istanbul (2004)
* Tina Karol performing "Show Me Your Love" in Athens (2006)
* Verka Serduchka performing "Dancing Lasha Tumbai" in Helsinki (2007)
* Ani Lorak performing "Shady Lady" in Belgrade (2008)
* Svetlana Loboda performing "Be My Valentine! (Anti-Crisis Girl)" in Moscow (2009)
* Alyosha performing "Sweet People" in Oslo (2010)
* Zlata Ognevich performing "Gravity" in Malmö (2013)
* Maria Yaremchuk performing "Tick-Tock" in Copenhagen (2014)
* Jamala performing "1944" in Stockholm (2016)
* O.Torvald performing "Time" in Kyiv (2017)
* Mélovin performing "Under the Ladder" in Lisbon (2018)
* Go_A performing "Shum" in Rotterdam (2021)
* Kalush Orchestra performing "Stefania" in Turin (2022)
* Tvorchi performing "Heart of Steel" in Liverpool (2023)
* Alyona Alyona and Jerry Heil performing "Teresa & Maria" in Malmö (2024)