Ukraine not to participate in Eurovision Song Contest this year
"In the current situation, abiding by the law on public broadcasting, as well as in the conditions of excessive politicization of the national selection process, the Public Broadcasting Company decided to refuse from participation in the Eurovision 2019 international song contest," the statement says.
It notes that the rules recognize an alternative way to determine a Ukrainian representative at Eurovision 2019 his or her direct appointment by a broadcaster, that is, the public broadcaster could choose any performer, including not from among the participants of the national selection.
"However, the public broadcaster turns down this alternative because it respects the choice of the TV audience of the national selection. Therefore, in a situation when the contract on participation in Eurovision was not signed with the winner, the television and radio company turned to the finalists who took second and third places in the national selection, respectively. The Freedom Jazz and Kazka bands also refused to participate in Eurovision 2019," the document says.
It notes that this year's national selection for Eurovision has revealed and drawn the attention of Ukrainian society to the systemic problem of the music industry in Ukraine: the connections of artists with show business in the aggressor state, which are still very close in the fifth year of the military conflict.
"The laws of Ukraine do not propose any restrictions on the work of performers and artists on the territory of the Russian Federation despite great public demand to resolve this situation," the public broadcaster said.
At the same time, UA:PBC deems it necessary to start a public dialogue through talk shows, forums, and discussions with the participation of leading experts in the field to formulate the position of Ukrainian society on the issue, as well as work out proposals for the draft law of Ukraine that could resolve the situation regarding the cooperation of Ukrainian artists with the aggressor state for the future.
As was reported earlier, singer Maruv (Hanna Korsun) earned the highest score among six contenders in the final of the Ukrainian national selection for Eurovision 2019 on February 23. This caused a scandal and questions about how performers giving concerts in Russia were admitted to the competition.
The winner of the national selection had to sign a participation contract with the National Public Broadcasting Company of Ukraine. One of the terms of the contract was the refusal to give concerts in Russia, which Maruv scheduled for April. However, the Maruv team and the PBC did not agree on the terms of the contract, and the singer refused to participate in the contest.
The Freedom Jazz and Kazka bands, which took second and third places in the national selection, respectively, also turned down the offers to participate in the international song contest.
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