British hope Sam Ryder sings a happy song in the Eurovision final

Britain’s Eurovision hopeful Sam Ryder has taken the stage with an upbeat rendition of his uplifting pop song Space Man.

The 32-year-old Tik Tok star is one of 25 acts vying for the top prize during the culmination of the week-long competition in Turin, Italy.

He took the stage in a dazzling one-piece suit encrusted with planets, moons and stars made of pearls and pearls.

Ryder was the 22nd act to perform and played a guitar midway through the show in front of a crowd of 7,000 fans at the Arena Pala Olympica who sang along.

Closing his set, the singer said: “Shine brightly my friends. Thank you all.”

Graham Norton, who is again hosting the competition on BBC One, said: “What a powerful performance. You can’t ask for much more.

“There is a sea of ​​Union Jack flags.”

Ryder will be hoping to improve the UK’s chances after finishing bottom of the rankings in the last two competitions – finishing bottom in 2019, with Michael Rice’s Bigger Than Us and James Newman’s Embers scoring ‘zero points’ in 2021.

He co-wrote the uplifting pop song with Grammy winner Amy Wadge, who has previously worked with Ed Sheeran and Max Wolfgang.

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The Eurovision final includes the 20 successful nations from the two semi-finals of the week as well as the so-called Big Five Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Spain.

During the show, folk-rap group Kalush Orchestra performed a stunning rendition of their song Stefania.

The Ukrainian act are currently the favorites to win as they have led the pack since invading Russia – prompting organizers to ban the country from taking part.

The group was dressed in elaborate outfits, including long, fringed, multicolored ensembles, a pink bucket hat, and others in traditional patterns.

Their performance, which combined rap and Ukrainian folklore, was well received by the audience, who cheered for the group with many waving Ukrainian flags.

Norton said: “We weren’t sure if they were going to make it, but they did it.

“Your commentator didn’t make it, he’s commenting from an air raid shelter.”

During the show, Icelandic folk band Systur, performing the ballad Meo Haekkandi Sol, ended their performance by saying, “This is for Ukraine, we love you.”

The finale opened with an energetic performance of strobe lights and projections of the David sculpture by Michelangelo from We Are Domi from Czech Republic singing Lights Off.

Finnish rock group The Rasmus opened the first performances with a powerful version of Jezebel and ripped their shirts off mid-show.

Switzerland’s Marius Bear provided a raw rendition of his track Boys Do Cry with simple background lighting, while French Alvan and Ahez had fire on stage to perform their track Fulenn.

Norway’s subwoolfer in yellow wolf costumes while performing a synchronized dance number and singing Give That Wolf A Banana.

Armenia’s representative, Rosa Linn, gave an emotional performance of her song Snap on a stage with a bed, lamp and chair all seemingly wrapped in white toilet paper rolls.

Spain’s contestant Chanel gave SloMo a jazzy performance while the entire crowd sang along with Mahmood from Italy and Blanco singing Brividi, which featured a powerful rap, behind a backdrop of twinkling lights.

Estonia closed the show with Stefan performing a catchy rendition of Hope, adding at the end of his performance, “Don’t lose hope for a better tomorrow.”

Also reigning winners of the Eurovision Song Contest, Italian rock band Maneskin, will take the stage to perform their new single ‘Supermodel’.