Lithuania’s Monika Liu advanced to the Eurovision final on Tuesday night with her song Sentimentai (Sentiments), which she performed in Lithuanian.
“It means everything to me. First of all, it means a lot to Lithuanians. I want them to be proud of their language. A lot of people said that I shouldn’t go to Eurovision with a Lithuanian song because no one would understand it. But I was confident and this [making it to the final] just confirms it. I’m very proud,” Monika Liu said in a press conference after the semi-final.
“Even yesterday, someone came and asked me if Russian is our national language. I said no because it has been 30 years since we regained our independence. Lithuanian language is not that popular, so I am here to make it cool,” she added.
The Lithuanian singer also urged people to remember that the war in Ukraine is ongoing and that Ukrainians desperately need support, both moral and financial.
The draw has decided that Monika Liu will perform in the second part of the Eurovision final.
Switzerland, Armenia, Iceland, Portugal, Norway, Greece, Ukraine, Moldova, and the Netherlands also made it to the final.
The other ten finalists will be announced during the second semi-final on Thursday.
The so-called Big Five – the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and France – will also perform in the final, as they are the song contest’s main financial sponsors.
This year, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) excluded Russia from the contest because of the ongoing war in Ukraine.
This year’s Eurovision is taking place in Turin, Italy, with the final taking place on Saturday.
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