- By Paul Seddon
- political reporter
12 May 2023 3:25pm BST
Updated 6 minutes ago
Image source: Getty Images
picture description,
Volodymyr Zelenskyi met Rishi Sunak on a trip to Downing Street in February
Rishi Sunak was “disappointed” that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was not allowed to speak at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, his spokesman said.
The organisers, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), say it would violate their political impartiality.
But Downing Street said it was “fitting” for Mr Zelenskyy to speak in light of the Russian invasion of his country.
Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer is also demanding that the Ukrainian head of state be allowed to give a speech.
Ukraine was supposed to be hosting the Eurovision Song Contest this year, but following last year’s Russian invasion, it’s taking place in Liverpool instead.
It was reported that Mr. Zelenskyy planned to perform at Saturday’s competition final via video in front of an expected global audience of 160 million viewers.
But in a statement on Thursday, the EBU said it had turned down a request from Ukraine’s president to deal with the incident, despite his “laudable intentions”.
“The Eurovision Song Contest is an international entertainment show and is subject to strict rules and principles,” it said.
“One of the cornerstones of the competition is the non-political nature of the event. This policy prohibits the ability to make political or similar statements in the context of the competition.”
“Values and Freedoms”
The EBU added that a Ukrainian design agency was involved in creating the artworks for the event and eleven Ukrainian artists, including last year’s winner Kalush Orchestra, would be performing.
However, Mr Sunak’s spokesman questioned the decision on Friday, saying: “The values and freedoms that President Zelenskyy and the people of Ukraine are fighting for are not political, they are fundamental.”
However, he added that the Prime Minister has no plans to step in and ask broadcasters to change their minds.
Ambassador of Ukraine to the UK Vadym Prystaiko said the final of the competition would have been a “great moment” for Mr. Zelenskyy to speak in front of a huge audience.
But speaking to PA Media, he added: “We understand all of the internal politics and the unbiased approach to all of this, so we don’t need to push too hard.”
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Ukraine is represented at this year’s competition by Nigerian-Ukrainian pop duo TVORCHI
In a statement, Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer said: “It is vital that we all continue to bear in mind the plight of the Ukrainian people as they stand up for all of us against Russian aggression.”
“Eurovision is an expression of international unity and freedom, and President Zelenskyy should be able to see him as a great defender of both.”
Russia ban
The EBU first said it would allow Russia to take part in the 2022 final after invading Ukraine two months before the final to be held in Italy.
UA: PBC, Ukraine’s public broadcaster, as well as broadcasters from Iceland, Finland, Norway and the Netherlands had called for a ban on Russia.
Boris Johnson, who was British Prime Minister during the Russian invasion and oversaw the UK’s initial response, said “it would have been right to hear from him during Saturday’s final”.