Fans all over Europe were delighted when MARUV overcame a jury scare earlier tonight in Ukraine’s national final for the Eurovision Song Contest 2019. However, soon afterwards, controversy arose on social media about the singer. UA:PBC have now revealed a statement which suggests MARUV’s trip to Tel Aviv is not secured yet.
Participation agreement
Vidbir as a national final is organised by another channel in Ukraine, STB. Eurovision broadcaster UA:PBC have asked them to do so. After the reveal of the winner of Vidbir, UA:PBC need to officially confirm the act. In a statement to Eurovision.tv, they have now stated that that has not been done yet. They say:
UA:PBC provides MARUV as the winner of the national selection with an agreement for consideration, specifying the terms of participation in the Eurovision Song Contest. The official announcement of the representative of Ukraine at the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest will take place after signing the participation agreement.
UA:PBC to Eurovision.tv
In other words, MARUV will now receive a set of conditions set by UA:PBC. Those can be formal, simple requirements most countries would usa, such as booking time off to prepare for the contest, possible fees et cetera. The singer needs to sign the agreement before UA:PBC can confirm her for Tel Aviv. However, looking at the controversy on social media, there may be more to it.
An intervening vice president
After already discussing her political stances during the final of Vidbir tonight, MARUV was subjected to more questions on Twitter. Several jury members questioned the singer about her connections to Russia. In the past, MARUV has performed in Russia and there are concerts scheduled for the future as well.
These concerts led to an intervention from a vice president of Ukraine, Vyacheslav Kyrylenko. The politician took to Twitter to express his anger at the selection of MARUV for Eurovision, stating:
The representative of Ukraine cannot be an artist who tours in the agressor state, has plans to do so again and doesn’t realise it’s unacceptable. Therefore, the story of the Ukrainian entrant [for Eurovision] is far from complete.
Vyacheslav Kyrylenko (@KyrylenkoVyach) on Twitter
As an addition to the statement to Eurovision.tv, UA:PBC also have a statement on their own website. They there repeat that MARUV needs to sign a contract which contains conditions set by the Ukrainian broadcaster. The broadcaster however adds another condition: “Siren Song”, and MARUV as artist, need to pass a check. What this check means, isn’t specified.
With these statements, UA:PBC have confirmed that MARUV isn’t secure of actually representing Ukraine at the Eurovision Song Contest. The case is slightly similar to that of Italy’s Mahmood earlier this year, who himself had to think carefully before agreeing to Eurovision. In this case, it seems it’s not the artist, but the broadcaster wanting to be on the safe side.
ESCXTRA.com will keep you updated over the coming hours and days as soon as either party releases more information. Stay tuned!
