Martin Österdahl: "The decision to exclude Russia from Eurovision was hard"! - Eurovision News | Music

The executive supervisor of the Eurovision Song Contest said the decision to exclude Russia in 2022 was “hard”.

In a recent interview, Martin Österdahl, the executive supervisor of Eurovision, said although the contest was not political it must always reflect the basic values of democracy.

Martin Österdahl made the comments whilst speaking to Abba’s Bjorn Ulvaeus, who was guest editing the flagship UK radio show, BBC’s Today program.

Asked if the decision to exclude Russia from the contest earlier this year was hard, Osterdahl replied:

“It was, and it still is. How Europe feels very much affects the contest. It is also that when you look back in time you see that the Eurovision Song Contest is like a log book of what has happened in Europe, what the trends have been in Europe,” he added. “But, also, what is the kind of mood and sentiment of Europe, and what is the social context of Europe at the time.”