Sam Ryder celebrated his dramatic second place win in Eurovision 2022 in Italy alongside Rylan Clark and Scott Mills, after reversing a long decline in the UK’s fortunes.
Ukraine's Kalush Orchestra won the Eurovision Song Contest, soaring to first place with 631 points in a symbolic show of public support following the country's invasion by Russia.
The 32-year-old singer-songwriter gave an electrifying performance of his hit single Space Man and ended up in second place with an impressive 466 points.
The former construction worker celebrated his incredible second place finish in the final with radio presenter Scott Mills and TV presenter Rylan Clark, who watched the final together in the Turin audience.
In a video posted to Twitter, the three were seen with their arms around each other as Sam beamed to the camera.
He said amid chants for the UK in the background: “Just destroyed the stigma! Thanks everyone for supporting. That was an incredible, incredible, rewarding journey. I hope you enjoyed it!”
Rylan joined in the chanting while pulling Sam away, as Scott blew a kiss at the camera.
In another video shared by Scott to his Twitter followers, Sam said it was “job done” after the dramatic Eurovision result.
Sam had been winning the contest for much of the evening – entering the stage at the beginning of the competition as all the finalists entered the show with the UK star winning loud cheers from the crowd.
To the shock of many, Sam won the contest when it came to the judges' votes – with the UK singer topping the leader board once votes from the experts were considered.
And while he continued to sit at the top of the list as votes from the public rolled in, everything changed when the final numbers were crunched.
Ukraine's folk-meets-hip-hop band Kalush Orchestra sealed victory when the public awarded them over 400 points, taking them to the top of the leader board.
Sam helped end decades of misery for the UK, with fans lauding Sam as a ‘national hero’ and urging for him to receive a knighthood.
The long haired musician and TikTok star had been keenly favoured ahead of the competition thanks to his soaring power ballad, Space Man, which evoked the classic British pop of Queen and Elton John.
In the 2021 contest, the UK ended up at the absolute bottom after failing to win any votes from either the jury or the public. The UK was also bottom of the leader board in 2019, 2010, 2008 and 2003.
