Ukrainian entry Kalush Orchestra received a standing ovation at tonight’s Eurovision semi-final.
Amid Russia’s invasion of their home country, the hip-hop act wowed the crowd with their performance of ‘Stefania’.
The group, who are already tipped to win the contest, is made up of founder and rapper Oleh Psiuk, multi-instrumentalist Ihor Didenchuk, and dancer Vlad Kurochka.
After receiving a standing ovation at the end of their performance at Turin’s Pala Olimpico Arena in Italy, they shouted: “Thank you for supporting Ukraine!”
The camera then cut to the crowd, who loudly cheered for the Ukrainian group.
The #Eurovision crowd loves Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/1Z4SDBhhf8
— X Soviet 🇺🇦 (@XSovietNews) May 10, 2022
During Tuesday’s semi-final, 17 countries will compete for 10 places in Saturday’s grand final.
The first semi-final line-up includes Albania, Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Netherlands, Slovenia, Switzerland, Ukraine, Austria, Croatia, Denmark, Greece, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Portugal and Armenia.
Ireland’s Eurovision entrant Brooke Scullion will compete in the second semi-final on Thursday night.
Australia, Azerbaijan, Cyprus, Finland, Georgia, Israel, Malta, San Marino, Serbia, Belgium, Czech Republic, Estonia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania and Sweden will also perform in the second semi-final.
The UK, France, Germany, Spain and Italy – known as the Big 5 – are automatically qualified for the final each year.
