“There will be no holiday, but strained”: what music experts say about the transfer of Eurovision from Ukraine

The organizers of the song contest have confirmed that Eurovision 2023 will not be held in Ukraine.

However, the exact venue of the competition is still unknown.

"This decision was dictated by the EBU's responsibility to provide conditions that guarantee the safety of all organizers and participants of the event, planning for which in the host country must begin immediately," the statement said.

The organizers concluded that Ukraine cannot ensure the safety of the delegations during the competition due to the current situation. 

“The rules of the Eurovision Song Contest, which all participating broadcasters agree to, clearly state that the venue of the event may be changed in the event of force majeure circumstances,” the organizers added. 

They stressed that usually at least 10 thousand people are accredited to work at Eurovision, including a film crew and journalists.

In addition, about 30 thousand fans from all over the world come to the event.

“Therefore, it is important that decisions regarding such a complex live television event are made by professionals in the field of broadcasting and do not become political in nature,” the EBU said in a statement.

By tradition, the competition in 2023 was supposed to be held by Ukraine after the victory of the Kalush Orchestra in Turin.

Probably, the organization of the competition will be taken over by the UK, whose representative took second place.

Problems with logistics and the human factor

Music industry experts find the European Broadcasting Union's decision reasonable.

Russian singer, composer and producer Alexander Dobronravov noted in an interview with RT that organizing all the logistics would be difficult from a technical point of view.

“Now it is inappropriate to hold a competition in our Eastern European region.

I do not even touch on politics, because the technical side itself does not allow this.

And if you take the human factor, it’s even probably immoral to carry out (Eurovision. -

).

People are dying.

It’s right that they moved it, ”said Dobronravov.

The artist is sure that you should not risk the safety of people.

“Of course, you can hold (competition. -

), agree on a day of silence.

But these are also military-technical issues that no one needs.

There may be provocations from Ukraine.

All this does not work in conjunction with art, with the holiday.

It will not be a holiday, but strained, ”says the composer.

Music critic Yevgeny Babichev also considers it fair to refuse to hold the contest on the territory of Ukraine.

According to him, the country's authorities can claim that they will hold the best competition, but "it's one thing to say a word, and another to realize the promise."

“Eurovision is not just one evening of live broadcast when everyone gathers at the TV.

This is a big process, almost months of painstaking work, when there are tight rehearsals, setting up scenery, and so on, ”Babichev noted.

He added that he himself was rooting for British representative Sam Reiter in 2022, and "if London or Glasgow accepts the competition, it will be absolutely the right decision."

Experts note that Eurovision is a big music competition, which the majority of Russian viewers love very much, but the LGBT agenda, as well as the performances of "freaks", divided opinions.

At the same time, Dobronravov assures that the charm of the competition lies in the fact that it demonstrates national and ethnic characteristics.

“When there is a national zest, it is always heard.

It is very joyful and pleasant when the Serbs sing in Serbian, the Spaniards in Spanish.

For example, the Portuguese, who sang a song in his native language, took first place (2017. -

).

This is a contest!

He is free and tolerant, for which he cannot be scolded, but there are different opinions, ”the artist noted, adding that Eurovision is not just a music competition, but a real holiday.

“This is probably the only music competition that brings together almost all countries.

All genres are sung there — rock, pop, folk, and jazz,” says Dobronravov. 

• © Jens Büttner/picture alliance via Getty Images

Speaking about the political component of Eurovision, Alexander Dobronravov noted that "five countries that do not participate in auditions, but simply prepare their participants - Germany, Great Britain, Spain, Italy, France - immediately determine the politics of both music and the politics of the general Western European mood."

Evgeny Babichev believes that politics has always been at Eurovision, but they began to talk about it actively only in recent years.

The critic shared his experience of participating in the show as part of a delegation from Belarus in 2007, when the competition was held in Finland: “Then Dima Koldun, who was assisted by Philip Kirkorov, performed very successfully with the song Work Your Magic and became one of the favorites, which many did not like ".

The critic mentioned that, according to rumors, commentators from some Western European countries, although they praised the song and talked about an interesting production, asked not to vote for the artist, because the country was supposedly a dictatorship.

"What is this if not politics?"

Babichev asks.

“Politics has always been in the Eurovision Song Contest, but sometimes you want to ignore this and enjoy a good three-hour show, when the cultures of different countries are trying to show themselves in their best glory,” he concluded.

The critic is sure that the political aspect of the contest has always been and will be, but Eurovision is interesting because it gives birth to world stars.

He noted that there are “really gems in the competition that are part of the golden fund of Eurovision performances”, and cited the example of the Italian rock band Måneskin, which won first place in 2021. 

Yevgeny Babichev also noted that Ukraine did not cope very well with the competition in 2017.

“Even in peacetime, without any of their internal political problems and external interference, they could not cope with the competition.

There were so many small mistakes that the journalists who cover the competition, my fellow experts, it seems to me, were horrified that they would have to go there again, ”Babichev said.

He added that "the declared amount of the budget that was spent on the organization of the competition was not used for its intended purpose - the competition was held in conditions of austerity, which was very conspicuous."

The critic believes that "everyone breathed a sigh of relief" when news began to appear about a possible change in the venue of the competition.

“But I would not be surprised at all if the EBU continued the trend and still eventually allowed the competition.

It would be an international scandal... Usually the venue is determined towards the end of summer, at the beginning of autumn, but it seems to me that they received some kind of unspoken signal from the participating countries that "we guys are not going there", and therefore began to hastily look for options, ”Babichev said.

In defense of the winners

Earlier, Ukraine announced its disagreement with the transfer of the contest from its territory, since, according to the authorities, it is ready to host Eurovision and has already begun preparations.

Culture Minister Oleksandr Tkachenko said the authorities would demand a review of the decision.

“Ukraine does not agree with the nature of the adoption of such a decision, when we were presented with a fact without discussing other options.

We will demand to change this decision, because we believe that we will be able to fulfill all our obligations, ”TASS reports.

The soloist of the Kalush Orchestra said on his Instagram account* that the whole band was very disappointed with the commission's decision and urged the organizers to give Ukraine a chance.

He assured that the country will do everything to ensure security.

“Our team is also very disappointed with the EBU's decision, and we really hope that it can be somehow changed, as we really want to hold this Eurovision in Ukraine and our AFU will do everything possible to make it safe for everyone.

Therefore, we ask the EBU and everyone who makes decisions to just give us a little time, and we will prove to you that everything will be as it should, ”said Oleg Psyuk.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson also said that Eurovision 2023 should be held in Ukraine.

The politician is proud of the second prize and would be happy if the show took place in his homeland, however, according to him, Ukraine, as a winner, deserved to host the competition.

He believes that Kyiv or another major city in the country would be a "fantastic place" for such a large-scale event.

The Prime Minister also noted that since his last visit to the Ukrainian capital in April, much has changed - the atmosphere in Kyiv is gradually returning to normal.

“I won’t say that the city is completely buzzing and noisy, but it is much more lively.

People feel more confident, they go out to sit in cafes and restaurants, this was not the case a few weeks ago, ”TASS quotes the prime minister.

Boris Johnson noted that there is still a whole year before the Eurovision Song Contest and "by then everything will be fine."

* Meta product, activity recognized as extremist, banned in Russia by decision of the Tverskoy Court of Moscow dated 03/21/2022.