13-year-old Ukrainian singer refuses to share stage with Russian performer at Sanremo Junior Festival
Sofiia Samoliuk, a 13-year-old singer from Ukraine and winner of the 2021 Black Sea Games music contest, has refused to perform on the same stage with a Russian performer during the Sanremo Junior Festival, which took place in Italy on 3 May.
Sofiia’s press officer said the festival’s organisers only announced that Russian artists would be taking part in the competition several hours before it was set to begin.
Instead of performing her song, Sofiia Samoliuk gave a speech in which she said it was unacceptable for representatives of the aggressor country to perform at an international level.
"I will not perform on the same stage as Russian terrorists who are killing Ukrainian children. I hope that next year the terrorist state will not be performing on this stage. Please support Ukraine," Sofiia said on stage.
Тринадцятирічна співачка з України, переможниця Чорноморських Ігор 2021 Софія Самолюк відмовилася ділити сцену з російським виконавцем на відомому фестивалі Sanremo Junior pic.twitter.com/0TNzppPCME
— УП.Життя (@UPZhyttya) May 4, 2023
Sofiia Samoliuk won the 2021 Black Sea Games music contest, which was held in Skadovsk in Kherson Oblast. She performed as a vocalist in the 11-13 age group. In 2022, Sofiia won the Grand-Prix at the United Kids Festival in Bulgaria, performing in the 13–14 age group.
Sanremo Junior is a singing competition held in Italy, and organised by United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), a UN agency responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to children worldwide.
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