Ukraine Withdraws from Eurovision

Ukraine have announced they have decided to withdraw from the Eurovision song competition because of conflict with Russia, reports the BBC.

Maruv, the winner of the public vote for the selection show withdrew because she did not want to be used as a “political tool”.

Ukraine wanted Maruv to sign a contract saying she would not perform any concerts in Russia in the lead-up to Eurovision. She has said she would agree to such conditions, but other clauses would have made her a mouthpiece for propaganda.

"I am a musician, rather than a tool of the political stage,” she wrote.

“The Eurovision Song Contest is an opportunity for every country to showcase itself in an international area, and for each performer to act as an ambassador of their country and win fans from around the world,”Ukraine’s national broadcaster UA:PBC said in a statement.

“But the national selection this year has drawn attention to a systemic problem with the music industry in Ukraine—the connection of artists with an aggressor state with whom we are in the fifth year of military conflict.

“Whilst for some, these links are acceptable, for others it causes indignation and unacceptance.

“Given the current situation, and following Ukrainian law on public broadcasting, as well as conditions of excessive politicisation of the national selection process, UA:PBC has decided to withdraw from the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest.”