Ukraine: 384 songs submitted for Vidbir 2023

Public broadcaster Suspilne announced that 384 songs have been submitted for the Ukrainian national final for Eurovision.  The number of songs come from 299 artists living in Ukraine or from abroad.  A jury will review the applications and select the acts that will compete in the final.  The final contestants will be revealed by the end of October.

Music Producer Dmytro Shurov made an impassioned comment about the special circumstances this national final will take place in a moment Ukraine is still affected by the impact of the war.

Another anxious morning across the country. Drones, missiles, arrivals, news from the front, volunteer meetings, exchange of prisoners, concerts in bomb shelters, heroism and betrayals, euphoria and suffering – in such a Ukraine, this selection for Eurovision 2023, which will be held in Liverpool instead of Kyiv, Lviv, Odesa or Dnipro. Many musicians are on an emotional day, many are abroad, some are volunteering, some are fighting. And despite everything, at the end of the reception, we have more than 300 submitted songs.

Yes, many of them are in a demo state, many are just the cry of the soul of people who do not even plan to be artists. Stories about life in bomb shelters, emigration, emptiness from the loss of relatives, faith in our Armed Forces. And yet, this is a vivid example of our people’s attitude towards constructiveness and hope. Thanks to everyone for the applications.

 

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The Ukrainian national final will take place in Kyiv on the 17th of December 2022 at the Maidan Nezalezhnosti metro station:

Kalush Orchestra won the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 with 631 points.  They also hold the record for the act that has received the highest number of points from the public.  Liverpool will host the 67th Eurovision Song Contest in May next year for security reasons.  However, as the current winner of the contest Ukraine will automatically qualify for the Grand Final.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1fl60ypdLs&ab_channel=EurovisionSongContest

Source: Suspilne