The European Broadcasting Union announced today (Friday) that Ukraine will not host the Eurovision Song Contest next year, although it has won the competition, due to the ongoing war on its soil since 24 February.
A statement from the EBU, the European Broadcasting Union, said: "Following Ukraine's victory at the Eurovision Song Contest, we examined the possibility of hosting the event together with the Ukrainian Broadcasting Authority, which had faith in the competition in 2017. What has become a well-known tradition. Which will host it a year later, provided it meets strict security criteria. "
The @EBU_HQ has issued the statement below regarding the hosting of next year's Eurovision Song Contest.
Find it online here ➡️ https://t.co/mAxSdReBj3 pic.twitter.com/JYqy58eHqV
- Eurovision Song Contest (@Eurovision) June 17, 2022
Despite this, the statement said, in contrast to the usual, next year it will not be Ukraine that will host the competition in its provinces.
This is due to the Russian invasion of the country and the war that has been going on there for several months.
"Following Russia's invasion of the country, we conducted a rigorous examination that focused on security and safety issues in the country. The Eurovision Song Contest is one of the most complicated and complex productions in the world, with thousands taking part in it during the 12 months prior to its broadcast.
"Given the circumstances and after an objective examination of the security and safety conditions that the host country must meet, it is with great regret that we are forced to determine that the Ukrainian Broadcasting Authority cannot meet these conditions."
The announcement also states that the EBU is exploring together with the BBC network the possibility of hosting the event in England, the country that won second place in this year's competition.
Despite this, the announcement said that it would do "everything in its power to reflect Ukraine's victory in the competition", despite the existence of the festive transmitter outside its borders.
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