Acts from 26 countries will compete in Saturday’s live final at the Liverpool Arena, which will be co-hosted by Ukrainian singer Julia Sanina. It will feature a performance by last year’s Eurovision winner, Kalush Orchestra, and other Ukrainian performers, and images of Ukraine will be shown before each act performs.
Eurovision Song Contest fetes Ukraine, but Zelenskyy barred from addressing ‘nonpolitical’ event
LIVERPOOL, England (AP) — This weekend’s Eurovision Song Contest will have Ukrainian flags, Ukrainian musicians and Ukrainian fans — but not the country’s wartime leader.
Organizers say they rejected a request from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to make a video address to the final of t he pan-continental music competition on Saturday. He was expected to urge the world to continue its support for Ukraine’s fight to repel Russian invasion.
The European Broadcasting Union, a grouping of national public broadcasters that runs Eurovision, said that letting Zelenskyy participate would breach “the nonpolitical nature of the event.”
Zelenskyy’s request “to address the audience at the Eurovision Song Contest, whilst made with laudable intentions, regrettably cannot be granted by the European Broadcasting Union management as it would be against the rules of the event,” the organization said.
Zelenskyy spokesman Sergii Nykyforov denied that the president had asked to speak to the event, which will be watched by an estimated 160 million people.
“The Office of the President of Ukraine did not address the organizers of the Eurovision Song Contest to offer (Zelenskyy’s) online performance during the finals or at any other stage of the contest,” he said on Facebook.
In the 15 months since Russia invaded, Zelenskyy has addressed dozens of global gatherings to promote his country’s cause. He has spoken to legislatures around the world by video — and a few times in person — and appealed to crowds at the Glastonbury music festival, the Grammy Awards and the Berlin Film Festival.
But he reportedly was denied permission to speak at the Academy Awards in March, and Ukraine says that FIFA, international soccer’s governing body, also refused Zelenskyy’s request to send a video message to the World Cup in November 2022.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s spokesman said the U.K. government was “disappointed by the decision from the European Broadcasting Union,” though there are no plans to challenge it .
“The values and freedoms that President Zelenskyy and the people of Ukraine are fighting for are not political, they’re fundamental,” Sunak spokesman Max Blain said.
Founded in 1956 to help heal a continent shattered by war, Eurovision strives to keep pop and politics separate. Overtly political lyrics, signs and symbols are banned.
But politics can’t be shut out entirely. . ."
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The EBU is an alliance of more than 100 broadcasters which runs the annual music competition. Traditionally, it is hosted by the country that wins the previous year’s contest. Ukraine’s Kalush Orchestra won the 2022 event held in Italy, but Kiev could not take on hosting duties due to the conflict, so the honors went to the UK as the second-place finisher.
The BBC and the EBU chose to “reflect and celebrate Ukraine’s Eurovision song contest win and show we are united by music during these hard times,” by introducing every participating artist with a “video postcard” featuring 37 locations from around the country.
Zelensky has requested to address numerous international events over the past year. The Oscars declined on both occasions, reportedly saying it would make the awards inappropriately political.
The Toronto Film Festival in Canada turned him down in September last year. FIFA declined a request to address the World Cup final in Qatar in December. . ."
Although he came up through the entertainment industry, Zelenskyy's education included earning a law degree from the Kyiv National Economic University, ABC News reports.
He then pursued his career as a comedian and an actor and eventually earned his role acting as the president of Ukraine in the hit TV series Servant Of The People back in 2015.
In the series, he played a school history teacher who goes on a political crusade against the corrupt Ukrainian government and eventually ends up landing the position of president.
Servant of the People\u00a0is a\u00a0Ukrainian\u00a0political satire\u00a0comedy television series created and produced by\u00a0Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who stars as Vasyl Petrovych Holoborodko, a high-school history teacher in his thirties who is unexpectedly elected\u00a0President of Ukraine. #Zelenskyypic.twitter.com/haWQyplUJX— Flaco (@Flaco) 1645818706
Honestly, the story's plot is not too far off from what ended up happening during his political campaign to become president.
Zelenskyy beat the incumbent Petro Poroshenko back in 2019 and entered politics despite his lack of political experience, reported NDTV.
So he's been in comedy shows, TV series, animation and now politics.
The 44-year-old also proved that he was the full package back in the day by pretending to play the piano…with his genitals.
Who among us has not played "Hava Nagila" on a piano with their genitals on stage and then gone on to lead their country against a foreign invasion?pic.twitter.com/6IlRgF83he— Amy Spiro (@Amy Spiro) 1646006429
It was apparently a bit that he did with his comedy troupe, Kvartal 95.
A clip of the Ukrainian President playing a piano with his genitals is rightly going viral
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy used to have quite the incredible entertainment career, including performing a weird piano routine.
Long before bravely defending his country from Russian invasion, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had quite the incredible entertainment career, which the internet has been really loving.
