STOCKHOLM (AP) — Swedish singer Loreen, who won the Eurovision Song Contest with her power ballad “Tattoo,” returned home on Tuesday, saying she was proud to be only the second person in Eurovision history to have won the contest twice.
“I’m so incredibly happy,” a smiling Loreen said after landing at Stockholm’s international airport from the English city of Liverpool, where the event was held.
“On the plane home, I had my first burst of joy and looked out at the sky. I am so incredibly happy about this. I am so proud that Sweden sent me.”
She held the trophy — a handmade glass sculpture in the shape of a microphone from the 1950s — saying it was “brutally heavy.”
Later Tuesday, the 39-year-old artist performed the winning dance-pop anthem at a downtown Stockholm park — a popular hangout known for its outdoor cafes and open-air concerts — before a cheering crowd of hundreds of people. The concert was broadcast live on Sweden’s public television.
“I am so grateful to have been able to represent you,” Loreen said to a screaming audience.
Loreen won the 67th Eurovision Song Contest, billed as the world’s biggest music event, on Saturday night. She had previously won in 2012 in Baku, Azerbaijan, with her song “Euphoria.”
Until this week, the only person to have won Eurovision twice was Johnny Logan of Ireland, 36 years ago.
Sweden’s victory at the Eurovision Song Contest is the country’s seventh, matching Ireland’s record.
The win gave Sweden the right to host next year’s contest which coincidentally is the 50th anniversary of Sweden’s first Eurovision triumph — ABBA’s 1974 victory with “Waterloo.” No details of next year’s show have been announced yet.
Born Lorine Zineb Nora Talhaoui in Stockholm of Moroccan parents, Loreen had her breakthrough when she took part in Swedish show Idol 2004 and came third.