Aiko and the rock ballad Pedestal. We want to be the best at Eurovision!

Aiko’s name is Alena Shirmanova. She was born in Moscow, grew up in the Czech Republic and now lives in Brighton, England. She made her debut in 2018, and two years later she released the album Expiration Date, and this year the album Fortune’s Child, from which the song Pedestal is also included. This will be her Eurovision song. As she said on Czech TV, it’s a confident rock ballad about self-love.

“I think that the Pedestal has some therapeutic meaning. A lot of people write me messages that it has exactly this meaning for them. And not only in romantic relationships, but also in family and friendships.”

We want to be the best!

Aiko is 24 years old and won the national round in December. What the final costume will choose is still a mystery. He wants the best possible result.

“Of course I will do my absolute best for it, the team will also do their absolute best to be the best,” added Aiko on Czech television. It’s not her first time in Sweden, she’s already performed here at festivals.

This year, the competition is accompanied by protests against Israel’s participation due to the war waged by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip in response to a large-scale terrorist attack by the Palestinian Hamas movement on October 7 last year. Therefore, due to the planned demonstrations and fears of violence, police officers from all over Sweden were called to Malmö, who were also reinforced by security forces from neighboring Denmark and Norway.

Eurovision has been held every year since 1956, with the exception of 2020, making it the longest-running international televised music competition. It is watched by an average of 180 million viewers every year and 52 countries have participated at least once.

The winner of last year’s Eurovision was the Swedish singer Loreen, who secured the Nordic country’s hosting. In Malmö, which is hosting Eurovision for the third time, up to 100,000 visitors are expected in connection with the competition.