Kalush Orchestra hinted that the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest could return to Ukraine as the group walked the red carpet at the 2022 MTV EMAs.
Eurovision Song Contest winners lined the bill at the PSD Bank Dome alongside international acts such as Stormzy, Lewis Capaldi, Gorillaz, Bebe Rexha and David Guetta.
Ahead of their performance in Dusseldorf, Germany, they said they wanted to be cultural “soldiers” for Ukraine after their Eurovision win in Italy earlier this year.
Lead singer Oleh Psiuk said through an interpreter in front of cameras rolling on the PA news agency: “We feel a little bit of pressure because it’s so big. We feel pressured to play for Ukraine and today we want everyone to show that Ukraine’s culture is so unique.”
He added that “now there is war and culture is one of our weapons, so today we are soldiers presenting culture of Ukraine”.
Speaking about Liverpool hosting the 2023 competition instead of Ukraine, Psiuk added: “We are very grateful to Britain for helping us deal with this situation.
“And of course we hope that Britain can integrate some details of our culture – something that is important for Ukraine because we did our best last year.
“This year, our country will bring out the best artists and the best music to win again. So if we win the war, Eurovision 2023 could take place in Kyiv.”
When asked if the Kalush Orchestra would be performing in Liverpool, he replied: “We don’t really know at the moment how everything will go on.”
But they would be happy to be invited as special guests.
Also present at this year’s event was British entrant and Eurovision runner-up Sam Ryder, who called rapper Stormzy his “inspiration” and “good soul”.
When asked how he was doing next year’s Eurovision being held in Liverpool, he added that he’s been a fan of the competition since he was a kid and it “never mattered where it was”.
“If I lived in Liverpool it might be a different story. I would say, “Oh my god, it’s coming here”. Traffic will be mental. I will enjoy it no matter what country it is.’
Discussing whether he’ll be performing at the 2023 competition, the singer said he “can’t begin to suspect” but he definitely wants to be there and “experience it with everyone else.”
Elsewhere at today’s EMAs, Harry Styles dominated with seven nominations, including Best Song and Video for the hit song As It Was, and Best Artist, closely followed by Taylor Swift, who received six nominations.
Taylor took home some of the biggest gongs, including Best Artist and Best Long Form Video.
British stars such as Ed Sheeran, Calvin Harris and Coldplay were also among the nominees.
The 2022 MTV EMAs will be streamed live on MTV on November 13th at 8pm GMT and will also be available to watch on Paramount+ UK from November 14th.
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