According to the Swedish national public broadcaster, SVT, the European Broadcasting Union has stated in an email to the broadcaster that Russia can still take part in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022.
The organizers of the Eurovision Song Contest, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), announced on Thursday morning that the Russian invasion of Ukraine will not affect Russia’s or Ukraine’s participation in the contest in Turin, Italy. The EBU state they will continue to monitor the situation closely.
The Eurovision Song Contest is a non-political cultural event which unites nations and celebrates diversity through music. The EBU’s public broadcaster members in both Russia and Ukraine have committed to participating in this year’s event in Turin and we are currently planning to welcome artists from both countries to perform in May.
EBU statement
Ukrainian broadcaster UA:PBC chose Kalush Orchesta to represent them at the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 with “Stefania” after the national selection winner Alina Pash withdrew from the competition. This came after the broadcaster put Alina Pash’s chance to compete at Eurovision on hold as they were investigating a 2015 trip she made to Crimea.
Russia has not announced their representative for the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 yet. The country withdrew from the competition in 2017, when the contest was held in Ukraine’s capital Kyiv. The chosen artist Yuliya Samoylova had been banned from entering Ukraine for three years for illegally travelling to Crimea from Russia.
