Ukraine announces Eurovision 2023 contestant live from bomb shelter in Kyiv

Ukraine’s next Eurovision representative was selected during a broadcast from a metro station

Ukraine has chosen its submission for Eurovision 2023 after a selection process that was televised live from a bomb shelter.

TVORCHI will compete for the 2022 reigning champion country in next year’s competition.

Described as an electro duo, TVORCHI is made up of friends Jefferey and Andriy, who met in 2018 while studying at the Ternopil National Medical University in west Ukraine.

They were announced as Ukraine’s 2023 competitors during Vidbir, the special programme to select Eurovision representatives.

The programme was broadcast live from a metro station in Kyiv, which doubled as a bomb shelter, on Saturday (17 November).

TVORCHI’s song, “Heart of Steel”, was selected out of 10 options to represent the country in the 2023 competition, by a combination of public voting and a jury.

During the broadcast, Jamala – Ukraine’s 2016 champion – shared a message of appreciation with the Ukrainian voting public.

“Thank you so much for watching us, for supporting us, it’s really important for our days – from this basement – we are creating new music for Ukraine, our Ukraine,” she told viewers.

Ukraine’s Kalush Orchestra won earlier this year with their song “Stefania”.

Liverpool was revealed as the next Eurovision host city back in October. Though Ukraine would have traditionally hosted the next ceremony as the winners of the 2022 competition, the ongoing war with Russia meant that planning a major event in the country wasn’t possible.

TVORCHI have already achieved commercial success in Ukraine, having released four albums and several singles.

Eurovision 2023 will take place in May.