(LONDON) The Eurovision Song Contest will take place in the United Kingdom next year, organizers announced on Monday, after concluding that it was too risky to hold the competition in the designated host country, Ukraine.
Posted yesterday at 9:09
The UK said the 2023 event would be a celebration of Ukrainian culture and creativity.
Ukraine won the right to host the pan-continental music competition when its contender, the folk-rap ensemble Kalush Orchestra, won this year’s edition in May. Briton Sam Ryder came second.
The European Broadcasting Union, which runs Eurovision, said it had concluded that “unfortunately next year’s event could not take place in Ukraine for security reasons”. She added that the BBC had agreed to air the show on behalf of Ukrainian broadcaster UA:PBC.
“The Eurovision Song Contest 2023 will not take place in Ukraine, but in support of Ukraine,” said Mykola Chernotytskyi, Chair of the UA Board of Directors: PBC. We are grateful to our partners at the BBC for showing solidarity with us. »
The fate of the 2023 contest had been discussed between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Mr Johnson said the two had agreed that “no matter where Eurovision 2023 is held, it should celebrate the country and the people of Ukraine”.
“As we are now hosts, the UK will honor that commitment directly – and run a fantastic competition on behalf of our Ukrainian friends,” Mr Johnson said.
Ukraine had previously won the contest twice and hosted Eurovision in 2005 and 2017. The contest has been held eight times in Britain, most recently in 1998, the year after the UK’s last victory. United.
The BBC said the call for applications to be the host city for the 2023 competition will open next week.
Founded in 1956 to help unite a continent scarred by World War II, the Eurovision Song Contest has grown to include more than 40 countries, including non-European nations like Israel and Australia.
Organizers strive to keep pop and politics separate – banning overtly political symbols and lyrics – but global tensions have often dogged the contest. Russia were expelled from this year’s competition due to their invasion of Ukraine in February.