Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a press conference at St. Sophia Cathedral on May 9, 2023 in Kiev, Ukraine.
Photo: Global Images Ukraine via Getty , Global Images Ukraine. All rights reserved.
The final of the Eurovision Song Contest will take place in Liverpool on Saturday 13 May. On the occasion of this event, the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj had considered addressing the audience with a greeting message via video. But now the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) said on Thursday (May 11) that his request “regrettably cannot be accepted because it violates the rules of the event”.
According to the organizers, it would not work because the non-political character of the event is one of the cornerstones of the music competition. “This principle prohibits the possibility of political or similar statements in the context of the competition,” said the EBU. Although this is a request with “commendable intentions”, it “unfortunately cannot be granted because it would be against the rules”. Nevertheless, Ukraine should receive a special tribute at this year’s finale: eleven artists from the country will perform, while different regions of the country are shown in a video.
The Ukrainian band Kalush Orchestra won the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 with her song “Stefania” – a mixture of rap, folklore and hip-hop. But Ukraine will not be the ESC host for 2023: The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has now confirmed that ESC 2023 will take place in the United Kingdom.
It was already announced in mid-June that the event will not take place in the winning country for understandable reasons. The reason for this is still the ongoing war in Ukraine – according to the European Broadcasting Union, a smooth and safe running of the show cannot be guaranteed.