A hit competition in the middle of the war? In the dispute over moving the next ESC to Great Britain, Prime Minister Johnson dismisses it. He refers to his lightning visit to Kyiv, is counting on time and a victory for Ukraine: “There’s still a year to go.”
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson hopes that the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) 2023 can still take place in Ukraine. As the British “Guardian” reports, the London Prime Minister said Ukraine deserved to host next year’s Eurovision Song Contest. Johnson wished that the country could do this despite the ongoing war.
The BBC broadcaster is currently in negotiations with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) about the music competition. British singer Sam Ryder took second place at the ESC in Turin this year behind the Ukrainian band Kalush Orchestra. The EBU announced on Friday that the competition could not take place in Ukraine next year due to the war and talks were underway to possibly host the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest in the UK.
According to the Guardian, Premier Johnson is rejecting his country’s first access: Johnson said he would love to have competition in his country. “But the fact of the matter is, they won it and they deserve to have it,” Johnson said. During his brief visit to Kyiv on Friday, he saw for himself that the city was already much busier than it was a few weeks ago. “Kyiv or another safe Ukrainian city would be a fantastic venue,” Johnson said, adding: “It’s a year away, a year! It’ll be okay.”
Before that, there had already been a lot of headwinds for the EBU. Among others, the Minister of Culture of Ukraine, Oleksandr Tkachenko, had criticized the decision of the European Broadcasting Union. This would be a setback for the country under attack from Russia. He said of the ESC: “Is it fair to take it away from the country that is fighting for democracy on behalf of the civilized world?”
