Business news from Ukraine

KYIV, LVIV, ODESA AND DNIPROPETROVSK ASPIRE TO HOST EUROVISION 2017

17 May , 2016  

KYIV. May 17 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The mayors of the Ukrainian capital and three regional centers (Odesa, Dnipropetrovsk and Lviv) have expressed their willingness to host the Eurovision 2017 song contest in their cities.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that the capital will properly prepare to host Eurovision “at the highest level.” “Kyiv will host Eurovision for the second time and we will try our best to properly prepare and host the contest at the highest level. We are already starting the preparations,” the Kyiv mayor’s press service quoted him as saying.

Klitschko named the Olympiysky National Sports Complex, which is located at the center of Kyiv, as the one of possible venues for holding the contest.

Dnipropetrovsk Mayor Boris Filatov said that he will address Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman with the proposal to host Eurovision 2017 in this city on Monday. “I am preparing the proposal to the Prime Minister for May 16,” he wrote on his Facebook page following the list of reasons to host the contest in Dnipropetrovsk (well-developed infrastructure, in particular).

Odesa Mayor Hennadiy Trukhanov expressed the opinion that this city is fitting for hosting Eurovision. “The place fitting to host such a prestigious contest can absolutely be our Odesa, the beautiful cosmopolitan European city with rich history and cultural traditions,” he wrote on his Facebook page.

Moreover, Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovy expressed the willingness to host the contest. “If necessary, Lviv will host Eurovision at the top level. We are always ready to host events at the top level. We proved this when we were hosting the European Football Championship and the World Chess Championship,” he said during the broadcast of the one of TV channels.

As reported, the Ukrainian singer Jamala, with the song ‘1944’, won the final of the Eurovision 2016 song contest in Stockholm, Sweden, on Saturday. Following the voting of the national juries of the countries participating in Eurovision 2016 and the viewers’ voting via SMS messages Jamala scored 534 points.

Overall, 26 countries participated in the final of the contest. Australia’s Dami Im won second place having scored 511 points, and Russian singer Sergei Lazarev won third place with 491 points.

Ukraine had already won the Eurovision 2004 song contest; the singer Ruslana Lyzhychko, with the song ‘Wild Dances’, was declared the winner.

According to the contest rules, the next Eurovision should take place in the country, the representative of which won the previous one. Thus, Ukraine will host the Eurovision 2017 song contest.