ANKA has become the 11th entry in Ukraine’s Vidbir after winning the public wildcard vote with her song “Palala.”
“Palala” joins Vidbir lineup
ANKA’s song Palala incorporates elements of dance and folk music, and heavily features the flute, an instrument ANKA, a Kyiv native, has played since the age of 3.
Over 80,000 people voted in the selection, and Palala took the most votes with around 27%.
The full participants list
ANKA joins the participant list which includes the likes of former winner MÉLOVIN and previous Vidbir favourite Jerry Heil, who is performing alongside alyona alyona.
| Artist(s) | Entry |
| ANKA | “Palala” |
| alyona alyona & Jerry Heil | “Teresa & Maria” |
| Drevo | “Endless Chain” |
| INGRET | “Keeper” |
| MÉLOVIN | “DREAMER” |
| NAHABA | “GLASSS” |
| NAZVA | “Slavic English” |
| SKYLERR | “Time Is Running Out” |
| YAGODY | “Tsunamia” |
| YAKTAK | “Lalala” |
| Ziferblat | “Place I Call Home” |
What is Vidbir?
Informally known as “Vidbir”, Ukraine’s national selection has been around since 2016, when it picked a Eurovision winner – Jamala’s “1944” right off the bat. It’s a small selection with generally between six to ten entries competing each year, and is traditionally held in February. Vidbir features a three-person jury panel, and this year an online vote.
Ukraine’s Eurovision Journey
Ukraine is one of the most successful countries to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest. The country has scored eight top-five placements, with an extra four top-ten finishes. Ukraine won the Contest three times – in 2004, 2016 and 2022 respectively. Ukraine made history for being the first ex-Soviet country to win the Contest more than once.
In 2023, TVORCHI represented Ukraine as co-host entry in Liverpool with their song “Heart of Steel”. The duo finished in 6th place, scoring 243 points – of which 54 points came from the jury, whilst the remaining 189 points came from the televote.
What do you think of the newest addition to the Vidbir line-up? Do you think Anka’s song can go all the way to Sweden? As always, let us know what you think by commenting below. Also, be sure to follow ‘That Eurovision Site’ on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tik-Tok, Threads and Bluesky as we prepare for Eurovision 2024!
News Source: UA:PBC
Photo Credit: UA:PBC
Rory Gannon
[…] The eleven entries competing in this year’s contest had been narrowed from an initial long list of 65 songs. Ukraine’s national broadcaster Suspilne had decided 10 of the 11 entries in this year’s contest before opening up the selection to a wildcard round. With a following 9 entries opened up to a public vote, where Anka won with 26% of the vote. […]
[…] up the selection to a wildcard round. With a following 9 entries opened up to a public vote, where Anka won with 26% of the vote. The running order and the entries for this year’s contest are as […]
[…] A retained feature from the 2024 edition of Vidbir is the public wildcard vote to select the last finalist. In the 2024 edition, following over 300,000 votes on the Ukrainian national app Diia, ANKA was selected as the wildcard with her song “Palala” receiving over 80,000 votes. […]