The European Broadcasting Union has confirmed the decision to transfer the international song contest Eurovision 2023 to another country and will continue to discuss the issue of finding a suitable venue.
“The EBU fully understands the disappointment caused by the announcement that the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 cannot be held in Ukraine, this year’s winning country. The decision was dictated by the EBU’s obligation to ensure that conditions are met to guarantee the safety of all who work and participate in the event for which planning must begin immediately in the host country,” the organization said in a statement.
The Broadcasting Union stated that it is essential that decisions made regarding the contest are made by broadcast professionals and do not become politicized, and also stressed that the rules of the contest clearly state that the event can be rescheduled in force majeure situations, such as like an ongoing war.
“The EBU sought advice from an outside security expert who made it clear that the countermeasures proposed to mitigate threats when planning the event in Ukraine were insufficient for an international public event, and the assessment of the risk of a mass casualty event due to the ongoing conflict is “high” , the statement says.
In addition, the EBU says that in addition to security concerns, the ongoing conflict in Ukraine makes delegations and participants reluctant to travel to the country.
“As for the possibility of holding the Contest in a border area near a neighboring country, the technical characteristics of the proposed venues and the lack of the necessary surrounding infrastructure do not meet the requirements of Eurovision,” the Broadcasting Union emphasizes.
In this connection, the EBU has decided to move the event to another country and will continue to discuss the issue of finding a suitable venue for Eurovision 2023.
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 the 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 in 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.
