eurovision song contest. but they are no ordinary band. they are from ukraine, 3 country in the midst of a bloody war. in the lead—up to the contest, all the band members faced a difficult decision. now, their winning song has become a powerful statement of defiance.

and they hope their global stardom will help ukraine's plight. i am viktoriia zhuhan. i work as a journalist for bbc in ukraine. i don't normally cover eurovision, especially when there is a war raging in my country, but kalush orchestra isn't an ordinary, typical eurovision contestant. but after following the kalush orchestra for ten days, i've learned that for them this is much more than a singing competition. it's a way to tell the world about the war that's destroying ukraine. we are on our way to a rehearsal in the north of the country.

oleh, in the pink hat, the group's frontman, finds it hard to take in what he sees. it's tymo, the band's vocalist and flute player, who realises he has been here before.

only weeks earlier, russian troops were pushed back after a barbaric onslaught. they left mass graves and even evidence of torture. vladimir putin, the president of russia, has started the largest war in europe since world war ii. non—stop shelling and a ground invasion has devastated the nation. over 1a million people have fled their homes. and tens of thousands have been left dead.

with only four weeks ago before the competition, today the 6—member band are filming a music video. chosen filming location, the city of irpin. they have employed actors, but the wreckage that surrounds us is far from fiction. music plays.

the band is named after the small town of kalush in western ukraine, where oleh, the lead singer, grew up.

since the start of the war, men of working age have been forced to stay behind to help fight.

but the war has also divided the band. not every member has made the same decision. 25—year—old svyatoslav was previously the band's most famous tiktok star. today, he is deployed to the frontline.

it's the orthodox easter weekend back in kalush, an important time in ukraine when families gather together. oleh is keen to visit his mother before he heads to italy for eurovision. it's also his first time home since the war began. oleh�*s mum, stefania, was the inspiration for the song the band is playing at the contest.

the song has taken on a whole new meaning — a war cry for the motherland. # stefania, mama, mama, stefania... soldiers on the frontline have been recording their own versions. stefania plays.

before we left kalush, oleh took me to the easter service. even the local priest gave his support. oleh�*s roots are the key to understanding the lyrics of the song. but it is tymo�*s connection with ukrainian folk music that inspired the two. tymo and his mum svitlana show me their family heirlooms.

music plays. traditional clothes like these have been part of ukraine's identity for hundreds of years. it is something the russian invasion has been trying to wipe out and something the band say they want to protect.

with his brother already serving in the military, tymo admits he felt the pressure too. music plays. the time has come for the band

to leave ukraine for the eurovision song contest. there is a no—fly zone across the country, so it's an uncomfortable three—day journey by road via poland to get to turin. kalush orchestra required special permission from the government to take part in eurovision. the band's arrival is met with huge media attention. everybody asks them the same question. what will it mean to ukraine if you win? journalists from all over

the world want to talk to them. hi, bilbao! this... hi, bilbao. i'm oleh from kalush orchestra and these are my... this is my... these are my answers for your five questions. da? yes! it feels like no eurovision band from ukraine has ever been under so much pressure as this one. it's notjust about eurovision — it's the pressure about representing ukraine to the whole world as the war is going on and telling ukraine and its story during this one and unique chance. all: let the eurovision i song contest 2022 begin! cheering and applause. this is the night of the grand

final, where we make eurovision history! tonight, the sound of beauty triumphs in torino. - 25 countries are competing i for the grand final and you — yes, you — have the power to decide who will be - the winner of eurovision 2022. make a note of the codes that correspond to your favourite l songs because soon, we will open the telephone lines. i ukraine is the bookies' favourite but sweden, the uk and spain also have hit songs. # space man. # oh, yeah!..# it's time for ukraine's kalush orchestra to perform to 200 million people worldwide. # stefania, mama, mama, stefania... sings in ukranian.

raps in ukrainian. slava, their old band member slava is back from the frontline and is watching. across the world, millions of ukrainians watch in support. sings in ukranian. # stefania, mama, mama, stefania. sings in ukranian.

with the eyes of every ukrainian on him, oleh uses the world stage as an opportunity to protest. cheering and applause. i ask all of you, please help ukraine, mariupol. help azovstal right now! cheering and applause continues. the votes start to come in. we've heard all 25 of tonight's finalists. each and every one of them has lit up this beautiful arena. and ukraine, the public has given you... ..439 points. cheering and applause. we now... a new leader! yes! ..have a new leader with 631 points. who will be the winner of the eurovision song contest 2022? it's between ukrainel and united kingdom.

the tension is killing me... yeah, i see, i see. ..in every way. for ukraine to win, the uk needs to receive less than 310 points. from the public, the united kingdom has received... ..183 points. cheering and applause. so we have a winner! all: the winner of the | eurovision song contest 2022 is ukraine! music swells. how fantastic! ukraine is the winner- of the eurovision song contest 2022! congratulations, ukraine! what an evening!

what a result! ukraine is the winner. all this noise is for you right now. so happy for you. your whole year, so, i hand you the trophy. lift it up. you deserve it. and if you want to say something, this is the moment. thank you so much. thank you for supporting ukraine. this victory is for every ukrainian. slava ukraini! cheering and applause. slava is back from the frontline. i took the chance to up with him.

with mission accomplished, kalush orchestra makes the journey home. just two months ago, this border crossing with poland was a place where hundreds and thousands of ukrainian refugees came to flee from war. but the mood here today is one of celebration. even the guards come bearing gifts and want their photos with the european winners.

cheering and applause. the band have come up with an ingenious way to directly help the war effort. russia's invasion has changed our country and the world but kalush orchestra has given all ukrainians a reason to sing, in spite of their pain, and a voice at their most vulnerable.

stefania plays. hello, there. the last few days have brought some much—needed rainfall to uk gardens but with the weather pattern remaining unsettled for the coming few days, we will see more rain. low pressure, for example, on sunday, is sitting to the north—west and we've got another area of low pressure approaching from the south. so, some drier weather around across southern and eastern areas, the lion's share of the sunshine

here, but i think it will be quite drizzly and damp across some of the irish sea coasts and breezy here, mr and coastalfog as well and over the hills. similarly so with this more persistent band of rain across the north and west of scotland and the northern isles included through the day on monday. but otherwise because you have got that warmer air pushing northwards, it will be a warmer day for the most part. but again that low pressure is crossing its way across scotland, the northern half of the country during sunday night, this next area of low pressure approaching from the south, bringing with it some rain. it is also bringing in that warmer air with it for a time, then that will slip away as the north—westerly winds set in, as it disappears off into the north sea. but for the start of monday, and through sunday night, we could well see some heavy rain pushing in across southern and eastern parts of england, pushing its way northwards. behind it, showers following on, really unsettled sort of day with heavy showers, the rumble of thunder, some heavy showers as well. temperatures are down 15 to 18 degrees, that is because of the change in wind direction, the north—westerly, which stays with us on tuesday,

that low pressure is just meandering up into the north sea so it could drag some rain into eastern coastal areas, but as i say, what we will find, because of the north—westerly in monday and tuesday and the start of wednesday, we get some cooler air drifting its way southwards for the middle part of the week. so, tuesday's detail, the northwesterly is with us for much of the time, bringing further showers are longer spells of rain. there will be strong sunshine in between but only 15 to 18, which is average for this time of year. it will be quite a breezy day and it will be potentially windy on wednesday, for the time of year, anyway, as these weather fronts rattle in the time of year, anyway, as these weatherfronts rattle in bringing in more rain. it is a lot like it will be a wash—out but there will be heavy showers developing on the weather front as it moves its way eastwards. a pretty windy day, gusts

of up to 30, a0 miles an hour, pretty breezy further south, too. as we move away from wednesday, we start to see the arrival of that high pressure in from the south and west so i think thursday will be a day where it starts to dry up a little bit, the wind is easing down, the cloud breaks up, there is always going to be the chance of these weather free systems splitting into north—western areas, keeping it cool here, but elsewhere, 17 to 19 celsius. forthe here, but elsewhere, 17 to 19 celsius. for the end of the week, it looks as if the highs will move in, drying things up, settling things down, and bringing warmerair. still the risk of rain for northern areas but because we will start to drag in the ephron the south, we will drag in some continental, things will get warmer, not very hot but temperatures will lift into the low to mid 20s once again. it is looking drier by the end of the week,

turning drier that is, how far north will the drier and warmer air be because they will beat rain around mainly in the north.

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