British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he was “disappointed” with the organization’s decision to prevent Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky from addressing the Eurovision final.
The United Kingdom raises its voice against Zelensky’s exclusion from Eurovision.
The British Prime Minister’s press office said Rishi Sunak was disappointed by the festival’s decision to prevent Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky from delivering a speech via video link during Saturday’s final.
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which organizes the contest, said: “Mr. Zelensky’s request to address the Eurovision audience, although it was made with commendable intentions, cannot be accepted reluctantly as it would contravene the rules of the event.”
The EBU explained that “one of the pillars of the competition is its non-political nature. This principle prohibits political or similar statements during the competition.”
Faced with this situation, Sunak’s spokeswoman insists that “the values and freedoms for which President Zelensky and the Ukrainian people are fighting are not political, but fundamental”, in the same way that Eurovision admitted “last year to Russia’s suspension of competition”.
Eurovision pays tribute to Ukraine
This year’s competition is being held in Liverpool, in the north of England, as the United Kingdom offered to host Eurovision in place of last year’s winner Ukraine, which should have hosted the competition but had to give up due to the Russian invasion.
The final, which will be held on Saturday and will be attended by 26 countries, will include A Special greetings to Ukrainewith performances by 11 Ukrainian artists, including last year’s winner, Kalush Orchestra, EBU reports.
During the evening, videos will be shown showing different parts of the country.
Liverpool also opened Monument to Ukraine as a “symbol of hope”an aluminum statue of a man holding a book, from which a dove fluttered with a Ukrainian flag.
He will remain in Strawberry Field, the garden surrounding the Salvation Army orphanage that gave its name to the Beatles’ psychedelic cult song, before being sent to Ukraine upon peace restoration.
Russia was excluded from the competition this year, as in the 2022 edition.
“Subtly charming bacon junkie. Infuriatingly humble beer trailblazer. Introvert. Evil reader. Hipster-friendly creator.”