The office of the President of Ukraine denied on Friday that it had contacted the organizers of the Eurovision Song Contest to ask them to invite Volodymyr Zelensky to speak in the final of the festival.
“The office of the President of Ukraine has not contacted the organizers of the Eurovision Song Contest to request participation. online of Volodymyr Zelensky during the final or at any other stage of the competition,” said the press secretary of the Ukrainian head of state, Serhiy Nikoforov, through the Facebook social network.
The Kiev government’s reaction comes after the publication of a statement from the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which organizes the contest, in which it explained that it had received a request for intervention from Zelensky, which could not be met because it was an event of an “apolitical nature”.
“Zelensky’s request to address the Eurovision Song Contest audience, although made with laudable intentions, unfortunately could not be granted as it would violate the rules of the event,” the EBU said.
The British Government said this Friday that it was “disappointed” with the decision of the organizer of the event.
“The prime minister believes that President Zelensky could speak during the event,” a spokesman for UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said.
“The values and freedoms that President Zelensky and the Ukrainian people in Ukraine are fighting for are not political, but fundamental,” he added.
Last year Ukraine won the Eurovision Song Contest with “Stefania” by the Kalush Orchestra.
Therefore, it should have hosted the competition this year, but the war that ravaged the country eventually led the organization to decide that the United Kingdom, second ranked, would be the host country.
Ukraine’s victory was essentially due to the popular vote. The country, which had been invaded by Russia months earlier, won a total of 631 votes, 439 of them by popular vote.
This year’s final, which will see the participation of 26 countries, including Portugal, will promote a strong tribute to Ukraine, with the presence of eleven Ukrainian artists on stage, including the Kalush Orchestra, the EBU noted.
Russia was excluded from the competition, just like in the 2022 edition.
The Russian military offensive on Ukrainian territory, launched on February 24 last year, plunged Europe into what is considered the most serious security crisis since World War II (1939-1945).
Source: TSF
