Italy rules Eurovision as live contest returns from COVID-19 pandemic hiatus

Rotterdam, Netherlands: The Eurovision Tune Contest, the primary main international cultural occasion to be held in particular person because the coronavirus pandemic hit final yr, resulted in a triumph for Italy's Maneskin, who gained with a hard-rocking tune referred to as "Zitti E Buoni."

The tune, which is full of off-color strains and lyrics about smoking, acquired 524 factors in voting from nationwide juries and the general public, beating France's entrant, Barbara Pravi, by 25 factors, and was cheered to victory by greater than 3,500 Dutch followers on the Ahoy Enviornment in Rotterdam.

"We just want to say to the whole Europe, to the whole world, rock 'n' roll never dies!" mentioned Damiano David, the band's lead singer, accepting the prize.

Maneskin, a uncommon rock winner in a contest whose earlier winners embody ABBA and Celine Dion, beat 25 different acts, some uncommon even for Eurovision requirements - together with a folk-techno act from Ukraine, a feminist Russian pop star and an Icelandic disco band.

The present, that includes rivals from dozens of nations, will probably be seen by many around the globe as an indication that main cultural occasions might be held efficiently if adequate measures are put in place to restrict the unfold of coronavirus. Final yr's Eurovision was canceled due to the pandemic.

This was Italy's third win because the contest's creation in 1956; it final triumphed in 1990 with Toto Cutugno. Maneskin members mentioned they had been glad to have the ability to take Eurovision again to Italy after 31 years, "especially after this hard year."

Testifying to the power of the sector, the lead saved altering because the votes from the assorted nationwide juries got here in, with Switzerland within the prime spot at one level, adopted by France and Malta. However the fashionable vote upended the outcomes, and Italy handed its rivals.