Eurovision star Sam Ryder arrived in the UK to a rapturous crowd of fans.
The 32-year-old TikTok star landed in London after an incredible second-place victory in the famed Eurovision Song Contest in Turin, Italy, at the weekend. Sam beat Spain and Sweden to claim the runner up spot, with a national jury vote of 283 points.
This was the UK's best result in 20 years at the popular annual singing competition. BirminghamLive reports that the singer today told BBC Radio 2: "I don't know just I felt so much, just encouragement and support and love from home. And not just home, but in the Eurovision community in general, because there's so much love, sitting in that arena is like being in a church, it is just incredible.
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"I can't explain it, and I can't even begin to do it justice, the feeling that you have when you're there. But going on that stage, it just felt like, just trust in everything." He added: "Trust in the years that you've been singing and enjoying singing and music and take it all in."
Sam continued: "We were sat there in the green room and absolutely engulfed in the energy of that arena, it was like being in a church because there was so much joy. I'm sitting there with my friends who are also my team and that's just so lucky. I've just been swept up in the joy that is Eurovision, I'm just so excited."
The singer landed at London's Heathrow Airport on Sunday evening, sporting a pink Kalush Orchestra hat, celebrating the Ukrainian winners of this year's competition. PA reports Ryder, who was carrying a champagne-shaped balloon and a Union Jack flag, said he was feeling "fantastic" and added he had an “incredible experience, such a rewarding experience”.
The singer arrived to find hoards of people waiting for him and had to stop take selfies and chat with fans eager for a moment with the star. Asked the first thing he would do when he got home, Sam said: “Have a curry with my family.” More than eight million people in the UK tuned in to watch Ryder’s Eurovision triumph on Saturday.
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