Well this will be the meet and greet that everyone has been waiting for. What, if anything controversial, will Kalush Orchestra say?
Well they too arrived late – 30 minutes late…. again, make your own inferences about that.
Obviously, they are speaking in Ukrainian and clutching Ukrainian flags – Everything went well. First question was about the importance of family, and it was dedicated to the lead singer’s mother. This is why it’s important to Ukrainians, as it reminds everyone of family. Next a question about the blue and yellow colours on the stage. The colours are going to stay, and they are also having Ukrainian ornaments on stage (Lord knows what that means).
Camera angles
Moving on to the issues with the set and how it will affect the performance … it doesn’t affect the performance. They also seem not to be totally happy with the camera angles, but that is what rehearsals are for, after all. They have had no rehearsal time all together for obvious reasons, and they are working very hard, making best use of their time in Italy.
The most important thing to them is to sing sincerely and from the bottom of their hearts, which they always try to do. Some fan questions about who they would like to collaborate with and things like that – the group mentions Sam Ryder (the first mention of the UK) and some other nations, but when pushed by the moderator they say that they can not make a ranking as to their “best” song – very diplomatic.
When asked about the mix between traditional and modern and why it’s important to them, they say it is important to identify themselves as they are showing their roots and showing how to move from the past to the present. Coming back to the elephant in the room, the next question was about the differences in feelings between being in Ukraine and Italy. They say it’s a big responsibility to be granted a permit to leave Ukraine, and they are trying to be useful by singing the song at the Contest.
Musical dreams
They say that they have many musical dreams and representing Ukraine was one of them, but it hasn’t fully come true yet. (I suspect it might do in another 14 days’ time, but that’s a story for another day).
The press conference ended by them singing a few lines of Stefania acapela.
All very straight-batted questions and answers overall.