Suspilne, the Ukrainian national broadcaster, has revealed the creative team behind LELÉKA’s performance for the Eurovision Song Contest 2026.
Illia Dutsyk will lead the creative team for Ukraine at Eurovision 2026. Dutsyk has worked with several Ukrainian artists such as Ziferblat, Oi FUSK, Hatespeech, Brykulets, Katarina Gryvul. He was the creative director for Ziferblat’s performance at Vidbir 2025. This will be his first time directing for the Eurovision Song Contest.
The main story of the performance is tied to the transition from fragmentation to unity, and its key emotion is hope. The directing team relies on emotional contact with the viewer. Dutsyk explained:
“We have developed a consonant interaction, from the first dialogue to a deep understanding of the performance. This is a story about the path of the individual, about the layering of internal states and constant movement towards oneself. I hope we managed to create a staging that is honest, vulnerable and at the same time strong, one that resonates on an internal level.”
Halyna Pekha, who works on educational programs and is movement researcher and choreographer, is also a member of the creative team. She will work on the choreography of the performances.
As previously revealed, LELÉKA’s staging for Eurovision will be different to the one she had for Vidbir. The performance will feature props and special effects.
LELÉKA will represent Ukraine at the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 with “Ridnym”. She will perform slot 12 in the second semi-final on May 14.
You can find more about LELÉKA here:
Source: Suspilne
Ukraine first participated in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2003, when Oleksandr Ponomariov performed “Hasta la vista”. The following year, Ruslana brought the country their first win with the song “Wild Dances”. It was a feat that would be replicated in 2016 by Jamala with her song “1944”, which scored 534 points to take victory in Stockholm. In 2017, O.Torvald represented the country on home soil with the song “Time”. The group finished in 24th place, Ukraine’s worst result at the contest to date. Kalush Orchestra gave Ukraine their third victory in 2022 with “Stefania”. Ukraine is one of only two remaining countries with a 100% semi-final qualification record.
