'Surreal': Sweden's Loreen on historic Eurovision win
STORY: "I am seriously overwhelmed," Loreen told reporters at a press conference shortly after her win, with the song "Tattoo".
After her previous triumph took place in 2012, she said, "It's like coming back to a family," joking that she had an 11-year relationship with Eurovision.
Loreen is the only person after Ireland's Johnny Logan to win the contest twice, and her victory puts Sweden level with Ireland as the most successful Eurovision countries, 49 years after Abba's famous victory.
Finland's Käärijä, a green-bolero-sleeved rapper, came second. He won the viewer vote with "Cha Cha Cha", but it was not enough to overtake Loreen's lead after the result from the juries in the 37 participating countries.
Asked what makes a Eurovision hit track, Loreen laughed at her own advice as she explained, ''I think the key ingredient to any success is being authentic. And to be authentic, you need to listen to yourself, you need to know yourself, and for you to know yourself you should take a step back and don't ask people for advice.''
The 67th edition of the musical festival was held in the "City of Pop" on behalf of Ukraine, last year's winner, which was unable to host this year because of Russia's invasion. Organisers had to walk a tightrope between putting Ukraine centre stage and steering clear of any overt political messages, which are not allowed in the contest.
Asked if she thinks Ukraine should one day get the chance to host she said: ''Absolutely, why shouldn't they? I love Ukraine. I've been a lot to Ukraine. I've had a lot of shows. I love the people there and it hurts me to see what's going on.''
