The Polish broadcaster, TVP, and the Polish Ministry of Culture have issued a statement in support of Ukraine. They call on the EBU to restart discussions with Ukraine and UA:PBC over hosting Eurovision 2023.
On Friday 16th June, the EBU released a statement confirming that they cannot hold Eurovision 2023 in Ukraine. They are instead opening up discussions to host the contest in the United Kingdom, run by the BBC. This move was met with disappointment by UA:PBC, who issued a response to the EBU statement shortly afterwards. Now it seems they have a neighbour on their side.
Polish statement: ‘We support the position of UA:PBC’
A letter signed by three Polish figures has been released in support of Ukraine hosting Eurovision. These figures are Piotr Glínski, Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Culture, Jacek Kurski, the chairman of national broadcaster TVP, and Mateusz Matyszkowicz, a member of the TVP management board.
Here is a link to their statement in Polish. A translated version of their statement will follow:
The Minister of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland and the Management Board of Telewizja Polska (Polish Television) regret that the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) arbitrarily deprived the Ukrainian public broadcaster UA:PBC of the right to organize the Eurovision Song Contest in 2023, and initiated talks on the organization of the event with the British BBC.
We support the position of UA:PBC and the Ukrainian authorities, in which they call for negotiations on the organization of the contest with the participation of representatives of the country that is the winner of this year’s Eurovision.
We assure you of our continued support to the Ukrainian public broadcaster in the search for such an organizational model for next year’s Eurovision 2023 contest, which will include the greatest possible participation of Ukrainian artists and producers, as well as audiences from that country.
Polish-Ukrainian support
Prior to the announcement from the EBU, a commonly speculated solution to Ukraine hosting Eurovision next year was a joint production with neighbouring Poland. TVP had put forward their name to offer to help with hosting duties in this circumstance.
In light of the new situation, it is not yet known whether Poland calling to restart negotiations would involve them proposing partial hosting duties. Kurski had previously stated that Poland would “always be open to help”. He also stated that “there are rules that bind us as a State Treasury company, a public company”.
What do you think of the Polish statement? Let us know! Be sure to stay updated by following @ESCXTRA on Twitter, @escxtra on Instagram and liking our Facebook page for the latest updates! Also, make sure you follow us on Spotify for the latest music from your favourite Eurovision acts.
I think considering the situation in Ukraine,
You\’d assume Poland would be best placed to hold the Eurovision song contest on behalf of there Ukrainian neighbours.
I guess you could argue United kingdom would of clearly won it if it wasn\’t for the fact Ukraine won it with a lot of sympathy votes.