After the announcement last week that Ukraine will be unable to host the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest, the EBU has released another statement to explain how the organization came to this decision.
“It is therefore critical that decisions made in relation to such a complex live television event are made by broadcasting professionals and do not become politicized.”
Starting off its statement, the EBU understands the frustrations of UA:PBC, and that the decision was made in order to guarantee the safety of everyone involved, especially with up to 10,000 accredited to work on the event, with another 30,000 expected to travel to the host city. Which, the EBU called for the decisions to be made by broadcasting professionals and should not be politicized.
The part of the statement may have arisen due to certain government officials commenting on the situation. An example of this is the UK’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the UK’s Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Nadine Dorries. In addition, the Polish Ministry of Culture, alongside TVP, as well as the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture also called for the EBU to continue negotiations with UA:PBC.
We call upon the @EBU_HQ to review their decision and to ensure that Ukraine’s proposals are given full and proper consideration.
— Nadine Dorries (@NadineDorries) June 22, 2022
They won it, they quite rightly want to host it. Slava Ukraini 🇺🇦
EBU sought third-party expert advice
When UA:PBC submitted the security questionnaire that was provided by the EBU it highlighted a “severe” risk of air raids/attacks by aircraft or attacks by drones or missiles, which can cause significant casualties. The EBU mentioned that it sought third-party security advice in regards to this:
The EBU sought third-party expert security advice which clearly stated that the counter measures proposed to mitigate the threats planning the event in Ukraine were insufficient for an international public event and the risk rating of a mass casualty event due to the ongoing conflict is “high”.
With this, the EBU also mentioned that the continuing conflict “makes delegations and participants reluctant to travel to the country”.
Hosting near Ukraine
Finally, the EBU also mentioned the hosting of the 2023 contest in a broader location; the venue and the infrastructure do not meet the requirements. Combining all these factors, along with the fact that there are no major international shows heading to Ukraine led to the EBU’s decision.
At the time of writing, discussions are ongoing to find a suitable location for next year’s contest and the EBU is happy to engage in further conversation with UA:PBC.
What do you think of the EBU’s decision? Which city will host the next edition of the competition? If so, where would you like them to host it? Let us know in the comments below or on social media. Don’t forget to follow ‘That Eurovision Site’ over on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
News Source: EBU
Photo Credit: EBU
