Ukrainian Culture Minister said he contacted EBU about Zelenskyy giving a speech at Eurovision
The Minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine, Oleksandr Tkachenko, said that he applied to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) about President Volodymyr Zelenskyy giving an online speech at Eurovision 2023, but he was refused.
Source: Tkachenko on the national joint 24/7 newscast
Quote: "I, and not the President’s Office, have appealed to the EBU a week before the contest with this proposal [about President Volodymyr Zelenskyy giving a speech at Eurovision 2023 – ed.].
For some reason, they sent me an official letter that it was impossible for political reasons, and on the eve of Eurovision, articles appeared in the press. Despite the fact that our colleagues in Great Britain supported us, they [EBU – ed.] decided that this was political."
Details: According to Tkachenko, there would be no politics in such an address, since for the first time in history the contest was not held by the winning country, and a congratulatory address by the president during the war would be completely appropriate.
The minister also talked about the meeting with EBU representatives on the eve of the competition.
Tkachenko said that the EBU apologised and said that it was a "human error": "No one knows what that means, but it is obvious that they would learn from this situation for the future."
The Eurovision 2023 final took place on 13 May. The contestant from Sweden, Loreen, won, while the Ukrainian group Tvorchi took sixth place.
Background:
- The Times reported that the organisers of Eurovision 2023 refused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s offer to deliver a speech at the final of the contest, which was held on 13 May.
- At the same time, the Office of the President of Ukraine did not approach the organisers of the Eurovision Song Contest with a proposal for an online address by Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
- UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was disappointed that the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy was not allowed to give a speech during the final of the Eurovision Song Contest.
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