After Kalush Orchestra’s victory on Saturday at the Eurovision Song Contest, custom would have Ukraine host the next edition.
Volodymyr Zelensky expressed the wish that it be held in 2023 in the “free, peaceful and rebuilt” city of Mariupol. But it is difficult to imagine today that the strategic port city of Ukraine, still intensely bombarded by the Russians as reported by kyiv, could soon welcome the whole of Europe to celebrate the next edition of the competition. The same goes for kyiv or any other Ukrainian city, whose future over the next twelve months is more than uncertain.
The tradition that wants the winning country to receive the following year is however not an obligation, recalls in Le Parisien Benoît Blaszczyk, secretary of the association of French Eurofans. “Winning the competition simply prioritizes organizing the following year, he explains, there is no obligation to host the competition when you are victorious.”
The regulations even provide that in the event of refusal or impossibility, another country takes over. “Generally one of the countries of the Big Five (the five biggest contributors to the European Broadcasting Union, which organizes Eurovision, namely France, Italy, Spain, Germany and the United Kingdom) “, further specifies the specialist.
Le Parisien also recalls that the situation has already arisen in the past: “in 1960, 1963, 1972 and 1974, the United Kingdom thus took over from the Netherlands, France, Monaco and Luxemburg. Same thing in 1980 when, after a second consecutive Israeli victory, the Netherlands organized the competition in The Hague”, this time for financial reasons.
Ukraine, which now has three Eurovision victories to its name, had already hosted the event in 2005 and 2017 in kyiv. So what will it be in 2023? In a statement, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which manages the organization of Eurovision, was cautious: “We congratulate Ukraine and the Kalush Orchestra for their victory and their superb performance. We will now start planning the 2023 edition with the broadcaster. It is obvious that the organization of next year’s competition involves unique challenges.