Rishi Sunak believes President Zelensky should be allowed to address the Eurovision Song Contest and rejected the suggestion that the Ukrainian leader’s message would breach political impartiality rules.
The prime minister believes the “values and freedoms that President Zelensky and the people of Ukraine are fighting for are not political, they’re fundamental”, No 10 said.
Sunak’s deputy spokesman said the PM thought an address from Zelensky would be “fitting” and he was “disappointed” he had not been allowed to speak.
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which oversees the contest with the BBC acting as this year’s host, has barred Zelensky from making a video address during Saturday’s final.
He said: “The prime minister thinks it would be fitting for President Zelensky to address the event given that we’re hosting it on behalf of Ukraine,”
The Eurovision Song Contest is facing a mounting backlash from Conservative and Labour MPs over the “wrong” decision to stop President Zelensky from speaking.
Sunak was joined in his condemnation of the ban by Boris Johnson. The former prime minister, who formed a close friendship with Zelensky when Russia invaded Ukraine, tweeted: “It would have been right to hear from President Zelensky at tomorrow’s #Eurovision. There is only one reason the contest is not in Ukraine and that is because of Putin’s illegal war.”
The Conservative MP Damian Green, who is acting chairman of the cross-party culture select committee, also said that it was a mistake by the EBU to deny the Ukrainian leader an opportunity to address the world via video message during Saturday’s final.
“This Eurovision is a unique event so it’s wrong to deny President Zelensky a chance to speak,” he said. “The viewers made their feelings known last year by voting for Ukraine and the rest of Europe should respect that.”
Labour’s Kevin Brennan, who is also a committee member, said that it was a “bizarre” decision because politics is at the heart of the upheaval which has affected the event.
“Given that the only reason it’s in Liverpool not Ukraine is for political reasons it seems bizarre to suggest allowing President Zelensky to say a few words would politicise the event,” he said.
The Conservative MP Karen Bradley, a former culture secretary, agreed that it was a “petty” call.
“Given the circumstances, it seems petty to stop the head of state of the country that should be hosting but are unable to because of an illegal invasion from thanking Liverpool and the UK for stepping in to help Ukraine,” she said.
“Nobody can be in any doubt about the political reasons for this and to try to pretend otherwise seems an odd decision.”
Meanwhile the organiser of the competition in Liverpool said it would have been “fantastic” to hear from the Ukrainian president.
Claire McColgan, the director of Culture Liverpool, said that “the event itself is very much a non-political event and maybe they’re worried about votes?”
She told Times Radio: “But the fact that we’ve done so much work with Ukrainians, worked very closely with the ambassador of Ukraine on the whole programme. This hasn’t been a kind of tick box for just doing something with Ukraine. This has gone through everything.
“So yeah, it would be fantastic to have a message from Zelensky in the city at this time, especially for the people from Ukraine who have come here, wishing it was at home.”
The Conservative MP Huw Merriman said that he would have “loved” to hear from Zelensky — but added that the decision might have been unavoidable.
“He is an absolute hero and leader to his nation but matters for the Eurovision are matters for the Eurovision,” he told Sky News.
“It’s not a matter that’s been taken by the government, the BBC or anyone in Liverpool. It’s [made] by a European broadcaster pool and they have very strict requirements over anything that they deem political. Our commitment to Ukraine is there – we are hosting it on their behalf, we are their friends, and are proud to do so.”
Merriman, the rail minister, added that he was disappointed in the decision by the unions’ attempt to disrupt the contest, along with the FA Cup final, via strike action.
Late on Thursday night the EBU issued a statement in which it reiterated that the decision was made “to protect the non-political nature of the Eurovision Song Contest”.
It added that the call was made by its management, led by Noel Curran, the director-general, rather than its alliance of more than 100 members.
It is not the first time that Zelensky has been barred from entertainment events. A request to speak at the Oscars in March was said to have been declined for the second consecutive year, in line with the Toronto Film Festival in September. Zelensky has previously been invited to address Davos 2022, the US Congress and parliament.
The move was disclosed by Sarah Sands of the British Council in a piece for Times Red Box. She wrote: “The request from Ukraine to show a video of President Zelensky at the final on Saturday was initially refused and remains under discussion.”
Lord Vaizey of Didcot, a former culture minister, said that Zelensky should be allowed to address Eurovision. “This is a joyful evening and a coming together of European nations and entertainers but we all know what the backdrop is and it is pathetic to hide away from it,” he said.
“The only reason the contest is being held here is because of the conflict in Ukraine and it would be courteous to allow Zelensky to make a statement about why Ukraine is in the very unfortunate position of not being able to host.”
His view was echoed by Baroness Stowell, chairwoman of the Lords communications and digital select committee and a former BBC policy chief. “It’s the wrong decision to deny him the opportunity to give a message on the basis that they don’t support political statements,” she said. “It’s not acceptable.”
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However, a BBC insider highlighted the issue of giving a platform to the potentially problematic leaders of countries which can compete in the contest, including Israel and Middle Eastern nations.
“Clearly there is a huge amount of sympathy for Zelensky but I can understand the principle behind it. When it was held in Russia would we have wanted Putin given the opportunity to make a nice address?,” they said. “How would they juggle that?”
Zelensky has admitted that he would have preferred the contest to have been hosted in a country bordering Ukraine, such as Slovakia or Poland, so that his citizens could attend.
He told the BBC: “I have great respect for the United Kingdom and its society. It is an amazing country. From the very start my opinion has been that if we can’t host Eurovision then it should take place in one of the countries that share a border with us such as Slovakia, Poland or any other country our people can reach easily. Somewhere near by.”
According to other reports, he added: “The main thing is that the contest is taking place. Let the people show their talent.”
Ukraine’s national broadcaster UA:PBC said in October that it was unable to host the 67th edition of the contest on safety grounds due to the Russian invasion. The BBC offered its support in July.
The event is being overseen by Martin Green, who previously worked on the London 2012 Olympics opening ceremony alongside Danny Boyle.
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A lifelong fan of the song contest, Green said he felt incredibly lucky and honoured to be running the event. “We will try to put a lot of emotion into it,” he said. “Sometimes that isn’t there and it becomes all about the spectacle, but given the context of us hosting on behalf of Ukraine it is important that there is emotion.”
Green was so passionate about the opportunity that he eschewed taking a break following an intense stint working on the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham and the Unboxed festival, which took place across the UK.
He cited the music contest as having had an influential impact on him when he was growing up as a gay man. He said: “Like many a young lad figuring out who he was going to be, I used to watch Eurovision and was awestruck by the scale, madness and the fact that it showed me so many different sides of life.
