Ukraine at Eurovision 2025: Ukraine has opened voting for the selection of jury members who will determine the Ukrainian jury score in the Eurovision 2025 Grand Final to the public! Who are the nine candidates, and how many of them are already familiar to Eurovision fans?

Ukraine, which will be represented at Eurovision 2025 by Ziferblat with their song “Bird of Pray,” has made a groundbreaking decision to let the public choose the jury members who will determine the Ukrainian jury score in the Grand Final. Out of nine candidates, the five who receive the highest number of votes will form Ukraine’s official jury for Eurovision 2025. The chosen jury members will be revealed on May 17, 2025, the night before the Grand Final.

Who Are the Candidates for Ukraine’s Eurovision Jury?

Most of the candidates have connections to Eurovision, either as former contestants or as participants in Ukraine’s national selection process, Vidbir. Here are the nine candidates:

MÉLOVIN – Singer, songwriter, composer, and producer; represented Ukraine at Eurovision 2018.
Tayanna – Singer, composer, and lyricist; finalist in Ukraine’s national selection in 2017 and 2018.
Marko Halanevych – Musician and lead vocalist of the band DakhaBrakha.
Ruslan Makhov – Director of performances and music videos for leading Ukrainian pop stars; choreographer-producer for Ukraine’s Eurovision 2023 entry.
Kateryna Pavlenko – Singer, composer, lyricist, and lead vocalist of Go_A; represented Ukraine at Eurovision 2021 and served as a jury member in Ukraine’s national selection for Eurovision 2025.
Anatoliy Sachivko – Film and theater director, choreographer; directed the music video for “1944,” Ukraine’s winning entry at Eurovision 2016.
Natela Chkhartishvili-Zatsarinna – Chief producer at Ukrainian music television channels “M1” and “M2.”
Olena Shoptenko – Choreographer and stage designer; world champion in ballroom dancing and winner/choreographer of “Dancing with the Stars.”
Dmitry Shurov – Founder of Pianoboy project; songwriter, rock pianist, film composer, and music producer for Ukraine’s national selection process in 2023 and 2024.

Voting for Ukraine’s five jury members for Eurovision will take place via the “Diya” app and will remain open until March 31, allowing citizens to have their say in shaping Ukraine’s representation at this year’s competition.

Ukraine at Eurovision 2025

“Bird of Pray” is the name of the song that will be performed by Ziferblat, representing Ukraine in the first semi-final of Eurovision 2025, to be held on May 13 in Basel, Switzerland. The song was written by the three band members: Valentyn Leshchynskyi, Danylo Leshchynskyi, and Fedir Khodakov. This is the band members’ first song on the Eurovision stage. The song is performed in English and Ukrainian.

The song “Bird of Pray” deals with hope and a plea for life, love, and freedom in difficult times. The band asks the addressee (the bird or the beloved) to fly, live, and share their heart with someone who cares. There’s a sense of longing for freedom and deep human connection. The song combines feelings of nostalgia, hope, and a request for care and love, using the powerful imagery of a flying bird as a symbol of freedom and hope.

Currently, Ukraine is ranked 9th in the betting tables for Eurovision 2025.

Ziferblat – Who are you?

The Ukrainian band Ziferblat was formed in 2015 and consists of three members: Valentyn Leshchynskyi (guitarist), Danylo Leshchynskyi (lead vocalist), and Fedir Khodakov (drummer). The band has released about nine singles, one EP (in 2017), and an album called “Peretvorennia”. They attempted to represent Ukraine at Eurovision 2023 but didn’t make it to the final. In 2024, they competed in the national selection with the song “Place I Call Home“, finishing second.

Eurovision 2025: This will be Ukraine’s 20th participation in the Eurovision Song Contest. Ukraine joined the competition in 2003 and has won it three times. Ukraine’s last victory was in Eurovision 2022 with the song “Stefania” performed by Kalush Orchestra.