In the Swedish national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2024, Ukrainian Maria Sur impressed the jury and the audience by winning the first semi-final and going straight to the final. The Zaporizhzhia resident, who moved to Sweden because of the invasion, has a chance to represent Sweden at Eurovision 2024.
Maria, a 19-year-old singer, is participating in the Swedish national selection for the second time. In 2023, she took 9th place at Melodifestivalen, and the winner was Loreen, who went on to win the Eurovision Song Contest.
This time, Maria Sur presented the song “When I’m Gone” and received 94 points out of 96 possible. On her Instagram, she expressed her gratitude for the support and love of her fans, and her participation in the final will be decided on March 9 during the Melodifestivalen final in Stockholm.
Maria moved to Sweden with her mother during the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Part of her family remains in Ukraine, and the singer’s daughter supports her father. Since 2023, Maria has been studying Swedish language and music remotely at Kyiv University in Sweden.
