The 2023 Eurovision Song Contest cannot be held in Ukraine given the ongoing war in the country, the European Broadcasting Union says, adding it was in talks with the BBC to host it in the United Kingdom.
Ukraine's public broadcaster says they cannot fulfil the security and operational guarantees to host the contest
Ukraine's Kalush Orchestra won this year's contest last month in Turin, with the United Kingdom's coming second"The security and operational guarantees required for a broadcaster to host, organise and produce the Eurovision Song Contest under the ESC Rules cannot be fulfilled by UA:PBC," the contest said on Twitter.
"The EBU would like to thank UA:PBC for their wholehearted cooperation and commitment in exploring all scenarios in the weeks since Kalush Orchestra's win on 14 May in Turin and share their sadness and disappointment that next year's contest cannot be held in Ukraine."Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was quick to offer his congratulations to Kalush Orchestra when they won.
As per tradition, the winner of the ESC hosts the competition the next year, but the security and operational guarantees required for a broadcaster to host the competition meant it had to go to the runner-up.A spokesman for British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: "We would be committed to ensuring that it overwhelmingly reflects Ukraine's rich culture, heritage and creativity as well as building on the ongoing partnership between our two countries.