Zurab Alasania — the CEO of the Ukrainian national broadcaster — has thrown a spanner in Ukraine’s potential participation next year’s Eurovision song contest.
As TV KP reports, Alasania has announced that if Russia wins this year’s edition, Ukraine will not be present at Eurovision 2017. Writing on his personal Facebook page he said:
“It is true that an alternative is forced to think. If the winner is a man named Lazarev — I think in the next year UA: Purshia will again refuse to participate in the competition”
One would assume that the “man named Lazarev” is Russia’s Sergey Lazarev – and “winning” referring to tomorrow night’s Eurovision grand final.
In which case it is sounding very likely that Ukraine will not be present once again at the 2017 contest, as Russia remains the bookies’ favourite to win the contest tomorrow night.
FRENCH ENTRY WAS THE BEST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
STOP POLITICS IN ART, IT IS DIS-GUSTING.
WOW AM Shocked at how bad that Ukrainian performance was! France, Australia had her beat! Easy. What a ridiculous sham! you have all been had. Time to Boycott Eurovision!
It was such a low style from Ukraine to point at Russia and say: Look how bad they are!
Such a low way… And beg for sympathy…
Every other country has problems. But this is a song contest not a begging contest! Shame on jureys to vote that way!
So many good songs missed! and Ukraine had to win. That song is pathetic and she is out of tome multiple times. WTF!!!!!!.
Australia should have won this. Why such a discrepancy between jury votes and public votes? something’s not right with the voting system.
It was ridiculous see how many neighbor countries voted for each other.
chica, yes, I did, and I’m not sorry. your “eurovision spirit” is nothing but voting for countries and places you’d like to visit. to keep that up you can buy a ticket to any country and visit any music festival or concert you want. your “eurovision spirit” is when you put as a winner country that kills innocent people every day in 2 spots of globe, country that killed 300 innocent people of MH17 and basically caused migration crisis in Europe by reckless killing Syrian people instead of ISIS. your “eurovision spirit” is when you say “we don’t want politics”… Read more »
@chica
I guess we’re gonna have to write to WiwiBloggs team about her ’cause her behaviour is a no-no.
Is there a moderator here? Oxana’s gone way beyond the bounds of decency. Eurovision spirit, eh?
I’m torn.
On one hand, I find 1944 to be an absolutely amazing song that Jamala performs perfectly.
On the other, it’s rude to bring it to Eurovision. Eurovision was invented to heal the wounds of the 1940s, and bring unity. A new vision of Europe. This is reopening of the wounds. I choked and sobbed to Jamala’s song (I’m a parent, and anything involving deaths of children makes me sob). While the song is that powerful, you don’t get to make us feel like that in Eurovision.
it is their choice I suppose but I am disappointed and was all for supporting Jamala, but will have to think again, do I make a political decision because i do not agree with Ukraine using the contest as some sort of protest or do I choose to just vote for Jamala, because she is a wonderful singer with a beautiful song. She will have to wait till tonight to find out when the votes are cast as I am sad to say this is what many people will be doing after she performs tonight. Such a shame.
Russia wins – Ukraine won’t go to Russia
Ukraine wins – Eurovision might not go to Ukraine (financial issues?…)
“Bye, Felicia” should be changed with “Bye, Ukraine”
I’m done with that constant whining from Ukraine. They sent their political shitty song to the contest which motto is COME TOGETHER and now THIS! Go cry more nobody cares! Hopefully Russia will win and all you snotty idiots get butthurt.
@ESCArgy
I’m with you! I said about the same thing to my husband yesterday. I was really pissed! It’s just ain’t right to boo some country when they send women and don’t when they send a cute guy. What happend with that equal right and treatment you guys always screaming about?
@Oxana
Pathetic attempt trying to appeal for sympathy votes
Really low beggar level, typical Ukraine for you
people who said “screw Ukraine, vote for Spain”
you have to be ashamed of yourself. look at this
http://1tv.com.ua/eurovision/news/79224
our broadcaster promotes your Barei on the main page of the event, while you act like an excuse for a human beings. You have to be ashamed of yourself. I feel sad for Barei. with such “support” like you, she’ll made more enemies than supporters.
Russian trolls, rats, alexanders and such
I’m done talking to you today. see ya after final results 🙂
@Oxana
And what gave you the right to overthrow a democratically elected leader that those very same people elected? They had every right to rebel, particularly against neo-nazis such as yourself
The Dragon,
spare me from your Russian propaganda. do you take Ukrainians for fools? starting a commotion and running from Russia just to get rich in Europe? what is your IQ? to say this nonsense you have to be very stupid or very Russian. Russia stole 10% of our gas spots in Crimea and about 30 of factories in Donbass, some of them very expensive one of a kind in Europe – it has been already disassembled and moved to Russia. and you’re saying that international community benefits from it? ahah
@Dragon
Why are you trying to reason with a complete lunatic?
No wonder the Dutch have rejected their association agreement with Ukraine, they obviously know something more about Ukrainians than I do, but if most of them are like you – no surprise as to why you’re hated by so many
Oxana, Russia is not picking a fight ,the US is picking a fight and using Ukrainian ultra nationalists as a pawn. It is the usual procedure. All of this could have been avoided if the Ukrainian nation would have acted rationally. The Ukrainians fell into the trap, to think that Europe and the Us would bring them fortune if they turned their back on Russia and made them enemies. Of course they did not bring the Ukrainians fortune ,because they dont care for Ukraine at all and they dont have the fortune needed anyway. Everything they wanted was a war… Read more »
I go to vote for Barei tonight , and maybe , Armenia,France ,UK,thats all
Who cares? I want EBU to ban her .I hate that political song I wanna enjoy Final , she just disturbes me , I am having headache afterwards ..It feels like she is casting an evil spell or something.
Go home Ukraine you’re drunk
Anex, Alexander, Alexandrized and all Russian army yes, Russians all rats and cowards. they accept the fact that their mama Russia kills and plunders small countries and they do nothing to stop this act. all brave Russians who have raised their voice against already moved out and asked asylum, most of them now in US and Ukraine. when I say “we” it stands for Ukrainians. taking in consideration various poll results and word of mouth, I can deliver accurate estimate on how majority of Ukrainians feel about Russian pigs who rape our women, sell our men to slavery, kill civilians… Read more »
Oxana is a disgusting racist abomination!
Oxana, you writing that “all Russians are rats and cowards” left me literally speechless for a while. That kind of cultural racism is horrifying. I can’t understand a mind that would think or say something like that for an entire group of people, be it based on their religion, ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation or any other trait, but I will allow myself to say in good faith that you need help if you really feel that way. Loathing more than 100 million humans that you haven’t met or spoken to, and only because they were born in a certain country,… Read more »
As a Ukrainian, I agree. Most Ukrainian artists are not giving concerts in Russian cities nowadays despise financial losses. It’s not “a threat”, just the way it is. I have nothing against a common Russian person but it would be blasphemous to compete there while our young and old men and women die fighting terrorist Russian government backs. No Ukrainian would want that.
I love the song of Jamala,but I won’t that will win and why?because I won’t will a political song win,In Eurovision needs peace and love and NOT a war / quarrel between Ukraine and Russia / Armenia and Azerbaijan.Come on Ukraine,Russia,Armenia and Azerbaijan,War or quarrel does not belong in Eurovision SONG contest,but chant,songs,lovely artists and Most importantly peace and love.Actually I hope that Russia will win tonight,but I want a other country,like France or Spain, to win,because In Eurovision must be peace and love,so that each country will also compete in 2017 that compete in 2016.
There are quite few countries in Europe that have NOT invaded Russia once or more. I think it is only Iceland ,Norway,Denmark,Luxemburg, Belgium ,Spain and Portugal. The nation that hosts this contest this time has invaded twice. Sweden put an export tax on Russian goods for decades ,it was not a tax though in conventional sense ,it was just robbery. No protection or service was provided in return. This made Sweden the richest nation of the Nordic countries,by far. Finally the Russians threw them out,like they always do. There has always been and still is ,this strange idea, that the… Read more »
OMG. I am surprised that o brainwashed people do have idea about wiwibloggs. Ukraine should not provoke, they can keep their statements until after the contest. Both Lazarev and Jamala are very decent entries this year and should and will do great, I hope politics aside.
@Darren
“I’m absolutely sick of all these countries being upset at countries that invaded/attacked them!”
Definitely, it will be easier for you to understand, why some countries don’t want to stand on the same stage together with their killers, when there’ll be a situation when somebody is raping you on the stage, but you have to sing with your rapist together at the same time.
Alex, your lovely Sergey is a common rat. in Ukraine he said that Crimea is Ukraine, and then in Russia he said that Ukrainian media lied and this is false statement, that Crimea is Russia. wanna his interview where he 10 minutes explains it to Russian media? we’re not saying that he’s a rat on every corner, we just know it. but there’s no surprise, Russians all rats and cowards. no need to highlight yet another rat from the pack only because he’s representing Russia in sing contest. and we’re not diggin dirt on him, we’re not disclosing his private… Read more »
Goodbye Ukraine! Your songs were overrated for years, so – bye, bye! This year your song sounds like a Muslim prayer.
And, if Armenia and Azerbaijan want to withdraw – don’t wait, just go.
ADmir, this is not a provocation from Ukraine. 2 days ago Russian FSB sent “pranksters” with attempt to corrupt our ESC jury, also they tried to mess with Jamala, to see if anything slip of her lips to be used to disqualify Ukraine. it is getting obvious that Russia won’t stop its coward attempts to destroy our ESC experience and going to Russia aftear that? why UBU does not punish Russia for attempt to corrupt our jury? here’s a record of phone call our head juror got from Russians. he reported it to broadcaster and yesterday as you can see… Read more »
well, what he said it’s quite obvious and understandable (when someone talks about russophobia it makes me smiling. because you know nothing about real situation. read about arrested crimean tatars and so on)
and regarding the statement of alasania i just don’t understand why he decided to do it now, at this moment, because it really looks like a ridiculous threat
@Davit @The Dragon
Very nice fairyteils. You must undestand, what Molotov-Ribbentrop pakt is agreement with USSR and Germany to start war again others Europe countries
@david
I must be happy was USSR has killed polish people? Sorry, I can not
Every nation in Europe tried to make some kind of peace contract with the Nazi Germany,including Poland and Russia.
Poland was also a beneficer in the first Nazi invasion ,they annexed part of Chechoslovakia when the Germans invaded.
Poland is in no way innocent of the WW II because they refused to allow the Red army to cross Poland to help the Czechs.
I guess it was because they wanted to benefit from the German invasion.
@Alex you are right of many things. Bur Alsania is not man of Jamala team
@Vladdushka both Germany and USSR had had military agreements with a lot of European countries before the outbreak of the war. And if you are a Ukrainian and have a little bit of logic, you should be happy that the USSR conquered the part of Poland that was formerly Western Russian Empire. That part conquered from Poland is now called Ukraine. Go convince your government to spend some money on education, not propaganda.
@Davit
Everybody knows what in 1939 USSR and Germany have militar demonstration in Brest after war with Poland
You are partly correct ,but the Tatars that fought with the Red army were not deported,and of course not their families.
It was a collective crime and the punishment was collective.
Collaborating with Nazis does not mean that they were cooking for them,it means they were murdering people in masses and in the most horrible way they could come up with.
For some reason it dooes not count in your mind.
It looks like the Nazi propaganda has done its job.
European people still believe that Russians are sub human and it is nothing wrong with killing them.
@Davit Did you forgot that the WWII began because Germany attacked Poland and Russians helped them? If Russia didn’t help Germans WWII would last shorter. Nazis was best friends with communists, so don’t say that USSR always fought with III Reich. They just predicted who will win war and changed places.
The atmosphere Armenian and Ukrainian teams are creating this year makes me so sad. I love ESC, I’ve been watching it since the 80’s. There was always subtle politics but these two delegations, together with Azeri and Turkey’s team in the previous years, made this event a polygon for the worst kind of politics. Both Armenian and Ukrainian teams have incredible singers this year: Jamala’s performance was so emotional and her voice divine on Thursday, and I don’t think I was breathing during those three minutes of Iveta’s performance, it was simply breath-taking. But both singers showed to be immature… Read more »
The atmosphere Armenian and Ukrainian teams are creating this year makes me so sad. I love ESC, I’ve been watching it since the 80’s. There was always subtle politics but these two delegations, together with Azeri and Turkey’s team in the previous years, made this event a polygon for the worst kind of politics. Both Armenian and Ukrainian teams have incredible singers this year: Jamala’s performance was so emotional and her voice divine on Thursday, and I don’t think I was breathing during those three minutes of Iveta’s performance, it was simply breath-taking. But both singers showed to be immature… Read more »
Do you think Azerbaijan will pull out if Iveta wins?
I see that many comments here are about how Russia is bringing politics into Eurovision. Are you completely blind, people? The moment Ukraine had announced their song this year, it was clear as day that they are going to have a political circus at Eurovision directed at Russia. Another cheap and dirty attempt to use the European stage in order to win some pity for themselves. It was so predictable that they would make such stupid statements in order to blackmail the entire Europe not to vote for Russia. Russia this year has done everything possible to stay away from… Read more »
Jamala, go home with your Nazi propaganda. Everyone knows that Crimean Tatars who were deported to Middle Asia (where they originated) cooperated with Nazis and Turkey (ally of Germany during WWII). I expect Ukraine to be disqualified right after the final. One of Russian channels investigated the case of Ukrainian entry and are going to shock Europe on prime time this evening. You will learn how corrupt is the Ukrainian broadcaster.
Russia’ s gonna win. Accept it. Now on to Junior Eurovision 2016 in Malta! I predict an Irish, Dutch, or Georgian win. Lemme hit up Wikipedia for the list of countries… There’s supposed to be 18 countries but only these 6 gave their green light: Albania (song comes out June 1st) Bulgaria (June 11th) Ireland (They had a Melodifestivalen style selection last year so I have high hopes this year) Malta (host county, hello! BRING OUT THE BABY DIVAS!) The Netherlands (Junior Songfestival is a good Disney-esque selection) Russia (much of the usual) Yep yep. Anyone here watch the Melodi… Read more »
@ The Dragon
I can not see that you know history. If you not from Russia, where are you from?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deportation_of_the_Crimean_Tatars
That Is correct.In WW II Crimean Tatars did not act nicely. Not all Tatars were deported from Crimea,just part of them. If the singers grandfather was deported fro Crimea he was most likely one of the Nazi collaborators. The Tatars were not killed, like many of the udoubibly deserved. Unfortunate many people on this page seem to be horribly racist and think it is OK to murder Russian families. That is what the Crimean Tatars did in huge quantity in 1944. So this song is full of double standard and racism. I am not Russian ,I dont watch TV and… Read more »