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Russia banned from Eurovision song contest over invasion of Ukraine

Russia banned from Eurovision song contest over invasion of Ukraine

Ukraine and several other European public broadcasters had called for Russia to be expelled.
26 Feb, 2022

Russia will not be allowed to participate in the final of this year's Eurovision song contest, the organiser said on Friday, after Ukraine and several other European public broadcasters had called for Russia to be expelled.

"The decision reflects concern that, in the light of the unprecedented crisis in Ukraine, the inclusion of a Russian entry in this year's contest would bring the competition into disrepute," the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) said in a statement.

Finland said on Friday it would not send contestants to the final if Russia was allowed to participate. Public broadcasters in Ukraine, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, Lithuania and Norway had all urged the EBU to expel Russia.

Russian military forces on Thursday began an invasion of neighbouring Ukraine, prompting the imposition of economic sanctions by Western powers, as well as the withdrawal of major international sporting events from Russia.

The Eurovision final, one of the world's largest televised events, takes place in Turin, Italy, on May 14.

Russia, which had yet to put forward a contestant this year, has participated 23 times since its first appearance in 1994 and won the contest in 2008.

The chairman of Ukraine's public broadcasting company Suspilne, Mykola Chernotytsky, wrote to the EBU saying that "Russia's participation, as an aggressor and violator of international law, in this year's Eurovision undermines the very idea of the competition".

He said Russia's state broadcaster was a "leading element of the Russian government's information war against Ukraine".

Russia was one of the favourites for the competition in 2016, when Crimean Tatar Susana Jamaladinova of Ukraine, known as Jamala, unexpectedly won with a song about Soviet leader Joseph Stalin's deportation of hundreds of thousands of people from her Black Sea homeland, two years after Russia annexed the territory.

The following year, as host of the finals, Ukraine barred Russia's entry from entering.

Comments

Ali Sabir Feb 26, 2022 11:14am
... Hard Cheese.
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BJW Melbourne Feb 26, 2022 01:22pm
If Russians start singing in all directions - the whole world would listen.
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TPA Feb 26, 2022 01:32pm
Long live Russia
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Tahir Raouf Feb 26, 2022 01:47pm
US and allies should also be banned as why they freeze the Afghanistan’s money creating human catastrophe. It’s just like to say that US and allies did it’s called liberation and when Russia did its invasion.
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Sayena Feb 26, 2022 02:07pm
This will bring Putin to his knees.
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Anonymouseee Feb 26, 2022 02:32pm
Was Israel ever banned from any contest for killing and invading Palestine?
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Truth Feb 26, 2022 02:48pm
But some human rights advocating politicians are happy to visit Russia for money....
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Laila Feb 27, 2022 05:51am
@Tahir Raouf EUROvision song contest. The clue is in the Euro part. The US, last I checked, is across the Atlantic Ocean in North America. So they do not participate in EUROpean contests.
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