Theme reveal: We will “Celebrate Diversity” in Kyiv!

In the last couple of hours, the much anticipated reveal of the theme artwork and slogan for the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest has taken place via Eurovision.tv. The chosen theme for the contest in Kyiv is “Celebrate Diversity“. In addition, the accompanying artwork has been revealed. You can take a look at it below!

The official artwork for the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest. (Source: UA:PBC / EBU)

The meaning behind the slogan

Since 2002, a slogan has been chosen to represent the contest with the exception of 2009. Back in Tallinn in 2002, their chosen slogan was “A Modern Fairytale“. Most recently, Stockholm chose “Come Together” as theme for the 2016 contest. According to Eurovision.tv, Jon Ola Sand (the executive supervisor of the Eurovision Song Contest) explains that: “The notion of celebrating diversity builds on last year’s theme of “Come Together” and is at the heart of Eurovision values: it is all-inclusive and all about countries around Europe, and beyond, joining together to celebrate both our common ground and our unique differences, as well as some great music”.

The accompanying artwork

With the generic logo being implemented in 2004, the theme artwork for each contest has taken on a new importance. This is the opportunity for broadcasters to visualise their chosen theme, whereas beforehand the logo itself would have been this opportunity. For 2017, Ukraine have chosen artwork that is “based around a traditional Ukrainian bead necklace known as Namysto”. As explained by Eurovision.tv, the Namysto is “more than just a piece of jewellery. Namysto is a protective amulet and a symbol of beauty and health. It is made up of many different beads, each with its own design and celebrates both diversity and individuality.” This symbolic necklace that is unique to Ukraine is therefore a perfect representation of the theme “Celebrating Diversity“.
In a video published by the EBU today, you can look back at the story of the Eurovison themes as well as looking forward to celebrating diversity in May this year.

Remember that the semi-final allocation draw for the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest will take place tomorrow at 11am CET. For all the details and escXtra’s analysis of the pots for the draw, check out this article!
What do you think of the theme chosen for 2017? Are you a fan of the slogan and the artwork? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below and via our Facebook and Twitter pages @escXtra!