Ukraine at Eurovision: From Hasta la Vista to Wild Dances (What Really Happened at Eurovision, Episode 3)

It’s been twenty years since Ukraine joined the Eurovision Song
Contest. Today they're known as one of the most successful
countries in the contest with three wins and a 100% qualification
record. 


But two decades ago it was a different story. In this episode we
chart their course into the contest (with Oleksandr Ponomariov's
"Hasta la Vista") and onto their first win (with Ruslana's "Wild
Dances") just a year later. 


Ahead of Eurovision 2003, a group of young and inexperienced
Ukrainians convinced the broadcaster to join the contest. We hear
from Vasyl Myroshnychenko, one of those early team members who is
now Ukraine's ambassador to Australia. He recounts the
broadcaster's many hurdles, which included major debts to the
EBU. He also describes the strategic vision that helped Ruslana
win Eurovision 2004.


We also hear from Philip Vella, the Maltese composer who wrote
Ira Losco's "Seventh Wonder". He was drafted in to write
Oleksandr Ponomariov's Eurovision 2003 song....only to have it
replaced at the last minute. Philip gives us an exclusive listen
of the song Ukraine had originally planned to send. He travelled
with Ukraine's team to their debut contest anyway and recounts
his experiences. 


Featuring:


Freddy: https://instagram.com/freddyt234


William: https://instagram.com/williamleeadams