BBC and Suspilne Agree on Ukraine’s Role at Eurovision 2023
This Tuesday, Head of the Managing Board of Ukraine’s Eurovision broadcaster Suspilne, Mykola Chernotytskyi, signed a Memorandum of Cooperation with BBC‘s Director General, Tim Davie.
This document outlines how Ukraine will be presented at Eurovision in Liverpool in May 2023. This is the first time such an agreement has been struck by a broadcaster unable to host the contest and the ‘replacement’ host broadcaster. The last time the winning country was unable to host was in 1980 when the Netherlands hosted on behalf of Israel, who won in 1979 on home soil.
The agreement between Suspilne and the BBC ensures Ukrainian artists and the “Ukrainian creative community” will have roles in the organization and presentation of the 2023 Contest. This also allows a representative of the Ukrainian broadcaster to be included in the BBC Supervisory Committee for Eurovision 2023.
Areas of collaboration will include both Suspilne and the BBC working to create the theme art, music, and delivery of the contest. While the press release does not mention potential hosts, this wording does leave the door open to having at least one Ukrainian host in Liverpool.
Mykola Chernotytskyi was overjoyed at the signing, and had this to say:
I am grateful to our partners at the BBC for productive cooperation. We have already agreed on the key principles and areas of work to jointly ensure a unique Eurovision. This musical festival will combine modern Ukrainian culture and all the diversity of British music and creativity.
Meanwhile, Vidbir, Ukraine’s national final for Eurovision, is accepting submissions until this Saturday (15th October) with the show set to kick off in Kyiv this December to find the successor to “Stefania” for Ukraine!
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