The European Broadcasting Union and the BBC have agreed that the international song contest Eurovision 2023 will be held in the UK on behalf of the Ukrainian TV and radio company Suspilne. “Following the decision that, unfortunately, next year’s event would not be possible in Ukraine for security reasons, the EBU considered a number of options with the winner. As a result of discussions, the EBU invited the British public broadcaster BBC, from which the participant took second place in the 2022 contest, to act as the organizer of the 67th Eurovision Song Contest,” the Suspіlny press service said.
It is noted that representatives of Suspіlny will cooperate with the BBC to develop and introduce Ukrainian elements in the show next year, and Ukraine, as the winning country of the Eurovision Song Contest 2022, will also automatically enter the final of the future contest.
According to the report, the host city of the contest in 2023 will be selected in the coming months as a result of the competitive procedure, which will begin this week, and the dates of the Eurovision-202 will be announced in due course.
In turn, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson wrote on the Twitter microblog that in a conversation with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, he agreed that wherever Eurovision 2023 takes place, it should glorify the country and people of Ukraine.
“Since we are now the host, the UK will honor this promise directly and put on a fantastic contest on behalf of our Ukrainian friends,” he wrote.
As reported, on June 14, the official kick-off meeting of the Eurovision organizers from Ukraine with the Supervisory Board, partners of the International Song Contest and the EBU core team took place, discussed issues of guarantees and preparation activities, a security questionnaire, potential locations for the contest. At the same time, on June 17, the EBU refused Ukraine to host Eurovision in 2023 after analyzing the security situation in the country. He also announced that he would start negotiations with the BBC about the possible holding of the competition in the UK.
After that, the Minister of Culture and Information Policy Oleksandr Tkachenko said that Ukraine did not agree with the nature of the decision on the impossibility of holding the Eurovision 2023 international song contest in the country, and demanded to change it.
In turn, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson expressed the hope that Ukraine will be able to host the Eurovision Song Contest next year 2023.
Later, Poland also stated that it did not agree with the decision of the European Broadcasting Union to deprive Ukraine of the right to host Eurovision 2023.
Oil prices went from falling to rising during trading on Monday due to renewed concerns about a lack of supply in the global market and supply disruptions.
September futures for Brent on London’s ICE Futures exchange rose by $1.1 (1.07%) to $104.3 per barrel by 13:52 Moscow time.
Quotes of futures for WTI for September in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) by the specified time increased by $1.14 (1.2%) – up to $95.84 per barrel.
Last Friday, Brent fell 0.6%, WTI – 1.7%.
Quotes support traders’ fears about the reduction in Russian oil exports due to Western sanctions, writes CNBC.
In addition, the market’s attention this week is drawn to the meeting of the Federal Reserve System (FRS), as a result of which the US Central Bank may again significantly increase the base interest rate. A serious tightening of monetary policy by the Fed, according to many experts, could lead to a recession in the US economy.
The German sportswear and footwear retailer Adidas has reopened four stores in Ukraine, excluding retail outlets in Kyiv, the Ukrainian Retailers Association (RAU) has reported.
According to her, the Adidas & Reebok discount center in the Spartak shopping center and a separate chain store in Lviv, retail outlets in Uzhgorod and the Global shopping center in Zhytomyr have reopened. The online store has also reopened.
At the same time, the retailer did not provide information about the reopening of stores in Kyiv, the association notes. The official website of Adidas in Ukraine states that 18 stores in the capital are “temporarily closed”.
In Ukraine, the chain is managed by SE “Adidas-Ukraine”, owned by Adidas AG. According to the financial results of the DP for 2020, its revenue amounted to UAH 1.4 billion, net profit – UAH 58.5 million.
German Interior Minister Nancy Feser and Social Affairs Minister Hubertus Heil arrived in Ukraine on a visit, Spiegel reported on Monday.
“At the beginning of their journey, the politicians wanted to visit the war-torn city of Irpen,” the report says.
It is noted that for Feather and Heil this is the first visit to Ukraine since the beginning of a full-scale Russian invasion. In addition to the visit to Irpen, meetings are also planned with Ukrainian politicians, including with the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Denis Monastyrsky, the head of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine Serhiy Kruk, First Vice Prime Minister – Minister of Economy Yulia Sviridenko, Minister of Social Policy Oksana Zholnovich and Mayor of Kyiv Vitaliy Klitschko.
The State Agency for Highways of Ukraine (Ukravtodor), which placed its debut Eurobonds worth $700 million at a rate of 6.25% last June under state guarantees, after Ukraine announced a proposal for a two-year deferral of payments on its Eurobonds, is now time is also evaluating options for managing its obligations.
“After this assessment is completed, it is likely that bonds will be followed by a similar liability management exercise in the near future,” Ukravtodor said in a London Stock Exchange announcement on Monday.
Ukraine, in its offer to holders of its sovereign bonds to defer payments on them for two years, indicated that it expects a similar offer from state NPCs Ukrenergo and Ukravtodor for their Eurobonds issued under state guarantees.
In November last year, Ukrenergo placed, under state guarantees, debut five-year “green” Eurobonds worth $825 million with a yield of 6.875% and interest payments twice a year. The proceeds from the issue of Eurobonds were used to pay for electricity produced by RES generation.
As reported, on July 20, Ukraine proposed to holders of Eurobonds from August 1 to defer all payments on them and maturities for two years, while maintaining the current rates of return.
In addition, Ukraine’s international partners within the G7 and the Paris Club of creditors announced their readiness to suspend the payment of Ukraine’s debt until the end of 2023 with the possibility of extending the deferment for another year. They also urged private lenders to accept Ukraine’s offer to defer payments on its Eurobonds and change the terms of its GDP warrants.
According to the website of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, on Friday, July 22, Eurobonds of Ukravtodor were quoted at a price of 17.64% of the face value, which is slightly lower than the quotations of sovereign Eurobonds of the same maturity year (about 20%).
Cash exchange rates in banks of regions of Ukraine
| Region | USD1 | EUR1 | |||
| Buying | Selling | Buying | Selling | ||
| Min | 27.50 | 38.80 | 36.75 | 39.00 | |
| Kyiv | Max | 38.50 | 39.70 | 38.90 | 40.50 |
| Average | 37.91 | 39.19 | 38.13 | 39.63 | |
| Min | 37.00 | 39.00 | 37.50 | 39.50 | |
| Odessa | Max | 38.00 | 39.80 | 38.00 | 40.80 |
| Average | 37.50 | 39.43 | 37.83 | 40.07 | |
| Min | 37.50 | 38.80 | 37.70 | 39.48 | |
| Lviv | Max | 38.70 | 39.49 | 39.05 | 40.30 |
| Average | 38.34 | 39.14 | 38.62 | 39.70 | |
| Min | 36.57 | 37.57 | 37.27 | 38.30 | |
| Kharkiv | Max | 37.50 | 38.80 | 38.10 | 39.60 |
| Average | 37.04 | 38.19 | 37.69 | 38.95 |
