K.J. Yossman The unspoken question in the run up to this year’s Eurovision Song Contest was whether Ukraine would be able to host next spring if they won.Before the event, sources close to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which organizes the annual music contest, indicated it was not a situation they were looking forward to grappling with.However, when Ukrainian rappers Kalush Orchestra were announced as the winners in Italy on Saturday night, it became an inevitability.The contest is hosted each year in the country which won the previous year.
Following Italian rock band Maneskin’s 2021 win, this year’s competition was held at the Pala Olimpico stadium in Turin.So far, Ukraine is being bullish about hosting next year.
After the show Kalush Orchestra lead singer Oleh Psiuk told press: “I’m sure that next year Ukraine will be happy to host [Eurovision] in the new, integrated and happy Ukraine.” Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy echoed that sentiment in an Instagram post congratulating the band: “Next year Ukraine will host Eurovision! […] We will do our best to one day host the participants and guests of Eurovision in Ukrainian Mariupol.
Free, peaceful, rebuilt!”Officially, the EBU would not be drawn on whether Ukraine will be in a position to host next year given that a brutal war is still raging throughout the country.
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