The Eurovision final will take place in Turin this weekend. Given that Ukraine is the favorite, and Belarus and Russia have been disqualified, I wonder if the audience and the jury of the contest against Vladimir Putin will unite? And will the song “Stephanie”, dedicated to the mother of the frontman of the Kalush Orchestra, the anthem of peace in Europe?

BBC News correspondent Victoria Zhugan followed the Kalush Orchestra from Irpen, which was half-destroyed by the Russians in the Kyiv region, to Turin, Italy.

“I don’t usually cover Eurovision, especially since the war is raging in Ukraine, but the Kalush Orchestra is not an ordinary participant in Eurovision.

This male sextet is surprisingly shy, as for the band that signed a contract with Sony and participates in the largest annual music competition in Europe.

On February 24, the band, like other Ukrainians, was faced with a choice – to fight or to flee. Help others, take care of yourself?

A few days after the Russian invasion, the Kalush Orchestra suspended rehearsals and began volunteering. The boys organized accommodation, food and medical care for those affected by the war. They seemed to pause the music.

But in a month I learned that despite the conflict, they still intend to represent Ukraine at Eurovision.

So I decided to follow their path from Ukraine to the competition.

I first met the band members in Irpen.

The once bustling city square in the center of the city was now terribly quiet.

A few weeks ago, there were continuous battles and the Russian army controlled the territory. Many locals were still affected without water, gas and electricity.

As I watched the square slowly fill with spectators – the Territorial Defense, City Council officials, grandparents – I had a hard time figuring out if these people who had experienced such terrible bloodshed really needed this impromptu rap concert.

Will the Kalush Orchestra’s performance be appropriate? Will it not be perceived as dancing on people’s graves?

But as soon as the crowd saw the soloist Oleg Psyuk, who pulled out his branded pink panama hat, they immediately approached, hugged him and asked to take a selfie.

This is exactly what the Irpins needed. The musicians helped them express what they felt and share solidarity with Ukraine.

The crowd began to sing softly, then a noticeable smile crossed people’s faces.

The next day I went with the Kalush Orchestra to the parking lot, where dozens of burned cars just piled up in a huge pile. The word “CHILDREN” was seen on several destroyed cars.

This is where the band planned to shoot a new video for their track for “Eurovision” called “Stephanie”.

The location in the midst of the aftermath of the war, where hundreds of civilians were killed, created a tense tension between the musicians and the film crew. It was not a scenery, but a real crime scene.

“It’s hard to describe the palette of emotions when you see shot cities, blown up cars, burned cars. I probably don’t know such words yet. It’s very stressful and difficult,” says Oleg.

Apparently picking up the words, he continues:

“This video is one of the moments we need to show the world how much trouble we have and how much we need help.”

It was at this point that my skepticism about Eurovision coverage and tracking of the band’s activities disappeared.

We talked not only about pop music, but also about the war. About the emotions of musicians who felt the need to sing when their country was devastated by violence.

But were these six guys standing there in sweatpants, hoods and headphones ready to withstand such an emotional burden of responsibility?

The answer came during Easter dinner.

Traveling to western Ukraine, I enjoy the flowering of apricot trees, pale green carpets of crops and watch storks nesting on electric poles. I have always loved the Ukrainian spring.

But the pleasure is interrupted by reminders of the war. Ahead – the sign “MINI”, another checkpoint and checking documents.

In 12 hours I finally got to the home of the founder and soloist of Kalush Orchestra Oleg Psyuk. More precisely, the house of his mother Stephanie, who lives in Kalush.

Yes, the band is named after Oleg’s hometown. And their single for Eurovision is in honor of his mother. This is a kind of dedication to the roots and motherhood.

“My Oleg didn’t tell me,” says Stefania, laughing out loud in the kitchen.

“Later, when they put on excerpts of songs that would be eligible for Eurovision, I realized that this was a song for me,” she said, sitting at an Easter table with her family.

Stephanie believes that her son’s determination and self-confidence are due to the fact that he grew up in a small town.

“Native still helps,” she says. “He wrote about his mother, but the song became something bigger.”

After receiving three kinds of cakes from hospitable Stephanie, I go to another Easter dinner. This time to the family home of vocalist and bagpiper Tymofiy Muzychuk (Timi).

If Oleg’s house was the key to understanding the band’s main message, Timi’s was the key to the sound palette.

Tima grew up in a small village near the border with Belarus. As a child, he listened to the bandura that his mother, Svetlana, teaches at a local music school. According to him, it was this musical basis that inspired him to play folk long before it became fashionable.

“The motive that everyone hears in Stephanie is this chorus and these tunes are due to my grandmothers doing folklore,” says Tima.

“I’ve always heard Ukrainian music since I was a child. I think it really influenced us to create such a song.”

His mother Svetlana takes me to a large wicker basket, which is full of hand-embroidered shirts, blouses and skirts of various sizes.

One day, Tim came home looking for authentic clothes for a concert, and his mother showed him a treasure trove of traditional clothes worn by his grandmothers.

So even the appearance of the band on the stage of “Eurovision” on Saturday will show this part of Timi’s folklore heritage.

Both Oleg and Tim confessed that they were thinking of taking up arms and joining the ranks of the defense. However, then, independently of each other, they came to the conclusion that as members of the Kalush Orchestra, which have already been selected for Eurovision, they have a unique opportunity and way to tell about the difficult situation in their country.

We are now representing Ukraine at Eurovision, and people who were not fans of Kalush or Eurovision are now watching and writing: we hope for you. Show Ukraine as it should be – all hope is on you. And it is very great responsibility”.

And even the song has gained its own vitality: Ukrainian volunteers teach their performance of the song, but changed the words in the chorus from “Stephanie” to “Ukraine”.

“The song is about my mother in the first place, in which there is not a single word about the war,” says Oleg. Unfortunately, she still became, as many people call her, a symbol of this war.

“I think that the perception of this song has probably changed for me now. Now I also identify it more with Ukraine in general, and not only with my mother.”

A few days before the Eurovision final, the Kalush Orchestra remains a favorite of bookmakers. But will they do enough to unite both the jury and the audience?

All attention will be focused on them in the finals this weekend.

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