#BIRTHDAY: Jurijus Veklenko from Lithuania is 32 today

It must be a thankless task trying to get that first win for your country. For some, it was easier than others. Many people tried before Portugal triumphed, but Serbia got it at the first go.

But it’s not just winning. These days it’s about making the final, and feeling sick as a pig if you finished eleventh. So finishing eleventh in a semi-final, representing a country yet to win must add to the pressure. In 2019, today’s birthday boy Jurijus Veklenko suffered that very fate. He finished eleventh, one point behind tenth. He was a relatively old hand at the Eurovision adventure, having been a backing singer twice. But finishing one point behind Denmark must have stuck in his craw. It was those pesky juries that sealed Jurij’s fate. But he did get more maxima than Denmark. Take that, Leonora.

Authors: Riigi Ametnik, John Stanton

Source: OnEurope.biz