Eurovision 2023: Loreen Won the Eurovision Song Contest, Securing Second Win for Sweden

A woman has become a performer and won the Eurovision Song Contest twice for the first time ever. With her soaring pop anthem Tattoo, Sweden’s Loreen has won the Eurovision Song Contest for the second time.

Sweden’s Loreen brought back home the success at Saturday’s Grand Final in Liverpool, Britain — with her song “Tattoo” procuring 583 points across the board.

The 2023 win for the musician, whose real name is Lorine Zineb Nora Talhaoui, marked her second all-time win in the competition after she previously left victorious in 2012.

In a close vote, the star, who last won the competition in 2012, defeated Käärijä of Finland.

Although Ireland’s Johnny Logan won the competition twice in 1980 and 1987, Loreen became the first woman performing in the competition to win twice.

Loreen, 39, came out on top of 25 other countries. Finland’s Käärijä came in second place with 526 points, while Israel’s Noa Kirel came in third with 362 points. Furthermore, now that she has won, the competition for the next year is probably going to be held in Sweden.

The UK’s Mae Muller failed to reproduce Sam Ryder’s success last year, coming in 25th place – one above the bottom.

What’s more, the Princess of Wales made a surprise cameo, playing the piano with last year’s champs Kalush Orchestra.

Loreen is only the second person – and the first woman – to win Eurovision twice, following Ireland’s Johnny Logan.

Sweden’s triumph implies it will host next year’s competition – on what will be the 50th anniversary of Abba’s historic victory with Waterloo in 1974.

However, for the fifth year in a row, Ireland failed to advance past the semi-finals, a result that their delegation’s head called “devastating.”

Saturday’s final on BBC One was watched live by a normal of 9.9 million watchers across the program, with a peak of 11 million.

Despite the fact that the competition is typically held in the nation where the previous year’s winner resides, Ukraine was deemed unsafe to compete in Eurovision this year due to the Russian invasion. Last year’s winner was the Kalush Orchestra of Ukraine. As a result, the competition was held by the United Kingdom on Ukraine’s behalf.

A peak audience of 10.6 million people tuned in to watch Sam Ryder get close in Turin last year.

Across estimated domains, last year’s contest contacted 161 million individuals across its three live shows – and producers were hopeful of topping that this year, with the show being found in every one of the 37 participating countries, as well as Belgium, Chile, Kosovo, North Macedonia, and the US.

The King’s Coronation’s average audience of 18 million viewers, which aired the previous weekend, was exceeded by the viewing figures.

The top three acts of the year were:

Sweden: Loreen – Tattoo (583 points)
Finland: Käärijä – Cha Cha Cha (526 points)
Israel: Noa Kirel – Unicorn (362 points)

The United Kingdom ended up near the bottom of the leaderboard because Mae Muller only received 24 points. She tweeted after the show, “not the result we hoped for.”

“The only thing I feel right now is so much love. Not in my wildest dreams did I think this was going to happen,” Loreen said after her win, per Billboard.

Sweden now holds the record for most Eurovision wins in the competition’s 67-year history, tied with Ireland. For their song “Waterloo,” ABBA was the first Swedish group to win in 1974.

The current year’s competition featured a few special guests, including Kate Middleton, 41, who contributed a short instrumental piano performance to the opening sequence film.

Middleton joined last year’s winners Kalush Orchestra as they played out their winning entry, “Stefania” at the Maidan Nezalezhnosti metro station in Kyiv, Ukraine. The performance was put together by composers, arrangers, and musical directors Joe Price and Kojo Samuel. It was recorded earlier in May at Windsor Castle’s Crimson Drawing Room.

The ensemble performance also featured British musicians Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber, Sam Ryder, Ms. Banks, Ballet Black, Bolt Strings, and Joss Stone.

This year, King Charles and Queen Camilla also attended the competition. In late April, they went to the M&S Bank Arena to see how things were coming together. Charles, 74, and Camilla, 75, went on a backstage tour and met executives, apprentices, and production staff at the BBC. Additionally, the year’s stage was revealed for the first time.

How votes were cast

Loreen received a maximum of 12 points from Ireland, Estonia, Spain, Albania, Cyprus, Ukraine, and others to easily win the jury vote.

She finished the jury sequence with a score of 340, giving her an agreeable 163-point lead over Italy’s Marco Mengoni.

The public favored the Finnish rapper Käärijä, whose 526 points put him temporarily in the lead.

Loreen regained the crown at the last minute, receiving a public score of 243 to put her back on top after a tense pause.

With just nine points from the general public and 15 points from the juries, the United Kingdom languished at the bottom of the table.

Only Germany had worse results. Only 18 points were awarded for the glam rock song Blood And Glitter by them.

The contest was co-organized by the BBC and the European Broadcasting Union, which issued criticism.

The official Twitter account of the broadcaster published: “Mae, we’re so proud of you and everything you’ve achieved at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest.”