Yahoo TV

STORY: Kalush Orchestra won the Eurovision Song Contest in Italy on Saturday (May 14) with their entry "Stefania", riding a wave of public support to claim an emotional victory that was welcomed by the country's president.

Speaking on Ukrainian TV from an unknown location, Stefania, the mother of band's frontman Oleh Psiuk, said she thought the names were mixed up and that the song was actually written about Psiuk's girlfriend.

"Because I have been reading comments under some of his videoclips, and there was a comment: ‘Where can I find ‘Stefania’?’ But I haven’t related it to myself and that the song is written for me. For some reason, I thought that somebody meant his girlfriend Sasha, and just mixed up the name," Stefania said.

Sung in Ukrainian, the winning song fused rap with traditional folk music.

The bookmakers had made Kalush Orchestra the clear favourite for the annual contest, which normally draws a television audience of close to 200 million, based in part on popular sympathy for Ukraine following Russia's invasion in February.

Ukraine was in fourth place based on jury voting but claimed victory with a record tally in viewer voting in an event that features 40 nations. Britain's Sam Ryder finished second, while Chanel of Spain came third.