Moments ago the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has revealed who will be hosting the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 in Kyiv and it turns out to be we’ll be guided through the three shows by a male trio!
A threesome that goes by the names of Oleksandr Skichko, Volodymyr Ostapchuk and Timur Miroshnychenko.
They’d like to say ‘hi!’ to you themselves:
Volodymyr and Oleksandr will be our main hosts, guiding us through the semi-finals and the final from the stage as well as announcing the acts and presenting results, while Timur will be in the greenroom taking the pulse of the participants.
Oleksandr began working in the entertainment in Ukraine at the age of 15 and has reached the semi-finals of Ukraine’s Got Talent with a parody act. He is now one of the biggest hosts in Ukraine hosting shows like Sing Like a Star, Wake Up and Star Way.
Volodymyr is also used to hosting big shows presenting Morning With Ukraine, Style Icon and Shopping Goddess. Other talents of his include voicing characters as he was the voice of Hans in the Ukrainian version of the popular Disney animation movie Frozen.
Timur has a long history with entertainment. He was a member of the student team in the Russian humour TV show KVN during his student year and has hosted shows like How Is It Made? and Studio 5, which is a live youth talk show. He has reportedly been a lifelong fan of the Eurovision Song Contest. His first Eurovision job was being a commentator for the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2005, the first time Ukraine broadcasted the show. He has hosted the Junior Eurovision Song Contest in 2009 and 2013 (alongside Ani Lorak and Zlata Ognevich respectively) and provided commentary for all the Junior Eurovision Song Contests, Eurovision Song Contests, Eurovision Dance Contests and Eurovision Young Musicians editions Ukraine has broadcasted. Earlier this year we have seen him host the semi-final allocation show. In total he has been involved in 30 Eurovision broadcasts.
Several people have something to say about the choice for these three men. First the Executive Supervisor of the contest, Jon Ola Sand:
“We are thrilled at the prospect of having three hosts for this year’s contest. This will be the first time that Eurovision has had three male hosts in its sixty-two year history, and Olexandr, Volodymyr, and Timur have a proven track record of combining humour, improvisation, and professionalism in their routines. I’m confident that they will provide much entertainment for viewers in May”.
About how this decision came to be, Stuart Barlow, Show Producer of this edition, explains:
“We did not set out looking for three young men but after being so impressed by them in the castings, we started to develop the idea of having these amazing young guys working together. They have a great chemistry, and its great because it has not been done before at Eurovision”.
Pavlo Hrytsak, the Deputy of General Director at the hosting broadcaster UA:PBC states with pride:
“Ukraine is the first country to have three male hosts. Timur doesn’t need an introduction. Both the Ukrainian and European public know him well. Oleksandr Skichko and Volodymyr Ostapchuk are professional hosts who have conducted thousands of live shows and events. So I am totally sure that the Eurovision shows are going to be unexpected, interesting and memorable”.
Oleksandr, Volodymyr and Timur will host the three shows live from Kiev on the 9th, 11th and 13th of May!
