Salvador Sobral of Portugal wins 2017 Eurovision song contest in Kiev

Singer Salvador Sobral of Portugal won the 2017 Eurovision song contest that ended in Ukraine’s capital Kiev early on Sunday, TASS reports.

27-year-old Sobral, who was seen as the frontrunner of the contest by European bookmakers, performed with the song Amar Pelos Dios (Love for Two), composed and written by his sister Luisa Sobral. The song is entirely in Portuguese.

Sobral, who is reported to suffer from a serious heart condition that requires a heart transplantation surgery, was not able to leave Portugal in time to take part in initial rehearsals. His sister, Luisa, stood in for him during technical rehearsals and press conferences before the singer arrived to take part in the first semifinal.

The Portugese singer won both the most points awarded by judges from each country in the contest and from residents of the nations taking part. With 758 points in total, he had a solid lead over Bulgaria’s Kristian Kotov, who came second with 615 points. The third place went to SunStroke Project from Moldova, who received 374 points.