The singer Manizha (Russia) performs with her band and the song "Russian Woman" at the first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest (Soeren Stache/picture alliance via Getty Images)
The Russian Federation has been kicked out of the Eurovision Song Contest, the broadcasting alliance organizing the annual event said Friday, after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine this week. The European Broadcasting Union said Friday that no Russian act would be allowed to compete in the 66th edition of the contest, the semi-finals and finals of which will be held in Turin, Italy, in May. “The decision reflects concern that, in light of the unprecedented crisis in Ukraine, the inclusion of a Russian entry in this year's Contest would bring the competition into disrepute,” the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) said in a statement.
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Broadcasters from several countries including Ukraine had called for Russia to be expelled from the contest, but on Thursday the EBU told Swedish newspaper Göteborgs-Posten that Eurovision is a “non-political cultural event” and that artists from both Ukraine and Russia were “welcome” to participate in Turin this year. But then, on Friday, Finland’s public broadcaster Yle went so far as to say Finland would boycott the event if Russia was allowed to participate. “Russia’s aggression in Ukraine goes against all the values that Yle and other European broadcasters stand for,” a spokesperson from Yle said in a statement. The EBU said Friday it “took time to consult widely among its membership” before reaching the decision, and maintained that although it had banned Russia from this year’s event, it’s an “apolitical” organization “committed to upholding the values of public service.” Being kicked out of Eurovision is just the latest cultural sanction against Russia since Putin attacked Ukraine. European soccer’s governing body UEFA announced Friday it would move the Champions League final on May 28 from St. Petersburg to Paris.
And in a Friday tweet, Formula 1 said that it would be “impossible to hold the Russian Grand Prix,” scheduled to be held in Sochi in September, “in the current circumstances.”
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