The UK has been offered the chance to host Eurovision in 2023 after the song contest’s organisers concluded that Ukraine is not capable of hosting it, a decision that has angered the nation’s government, which says it still wants to hold the event,
The Guardian reports.
Ukraine won this year with Kalush Orchestra’s Stefania, as viewers across the continent came together to vote for the song and show solidarity with the nation after Russian’s invasion.
Tradition dictates that the winner is offered the chance to host the next year’s contest. But the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which organises the competition, said it had “with deep regret” concluded that it would not be possible to provide the security and operational guarantees required to hold the contest in Ukraine.
It has asked the BBC to host next year’s competition, after the UK finished in second place with Sam Ryder’s Space Man.
Sources with knowledge of the discussions suggested that it is far from a done deal that the UK will end up as host and suggested that Brussels could be preparing a rival bid.
The Ukrainian government is unhappy with the conclusion that it cannot safely host the event, which would mean missing out on a major opportunity to focus the world’s attention on the country and what it has endured.
Its culture minister, Oleksandr Tkachenko, has already sent a series of potential venues in Ukraine to Eurovision’s organisers.
He reacted angrily to the EBU’s announcement and suggested that moving Eurovision to the UK would undermine his country: “We honestly won Eurovision and have fulfilled all the conditions within the deadlines for the process of approving its holding in Ukraine – we have provided answers and guarantees on safety standards and possible venues for the competition.
“Hosting Eurovision 2023 in Ukraine is a strong signal to the whole world that it supports Ukraine now. We will demand to change this decision because we believe that we will be able to fulfil all the commitments, as we have repeatedly emphasised to the European Broadcasting Union.”
There is also a suggestion that the EU is working on a rival bid to move next year’s contest to Brussels, where it would be hosted on behalf of Ukraine in a symbolic gesture of solidarity from the “capital of the EU”.
A Downing Street spokesperson said they still hoped Ukraine would host the contest but that if it was held in the UK they would make sure it reflected “Ukraine’s rich culture, heritage and creativity, as well as building on the ongoing partnership between our two countries”.
The EBU said: “The Eurovision song contest is one of the most complex TV productions in the world, with thousands working on, and attending, the event and 12 months of preparation time needed.”
