Ukraine: A Discussion about Eurovision 2023!
The Ukrainian team has reflected on their participation in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023, which was hosted by the United Kingdom on their behalf.
Led by Oksana Skibinska, Head of the Ukrainian delegation, and Herman Nenov, Creative Director of the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 for Ukraine, the team discussed the contest’s impact, the selection of interval acts, and their objectives in an interview with Anna Tulyeva, host of the Eurovision Ukraine video blog?
Did everything work out the way you planned?
The ideas and messages I wanted to convey were conveyed. The result is good, and a lot of people, in particular Eurofans, in my opinion, were satisfied. This year’s Eurovision was the best presentation of Ukraine among all three Song Contests organised after our victory in the contests (2005, 2017 and 2023). It was during this Eurovision that there was “the most Ukraine” and Ukrainian artists for all years, despite the fact that we were already the host country of the competition twice. Regarding the interval acts, I want to say that each of the Ukrainian artists invited by us this year carried a certain truth about our present. There were no random people there. I was against showing the same artists, and the same assets of ours a third time. We had the task of showing different musical directions of Ukraine.
Tell me, what ideas were included in the interval acts? How were they created?
All the ideas were determined by December, we went to the Christmas holidays already having a road map, and from January we started negotiations with artists and the realisation of the production. All performances were thought out in the moments of the most violent attacks. Alyosha’s performance was invented in a bomb shelter. The first idea came to me during the period of missile attacks. I was in the shelter and I witnessed a conversation between a girl and a boy, they were talking about the fact that they cannot, unfortunately, now hug and be together to support each other. It touched me and became the impetus for the first Semi-Final interval act. For me, all interval acts had to be honest, because ideas were really born in super extreme conditions. We were looking for such artists – as honest as possible.
Tell us about your collaborations. Who did you enjoy working with the most?
In general, I am just humanly grateful for the way the BBC team treated us. They didn’t just ask, “How are you there?”, but they were really worried when we had shelling. Speaking of Ukrainians, the best collaboration for me was with the Big Brave Events 1+1 media team. In general, it was a very large international collaboration with the creative team of the competition, 1+1 media and director Tim Van Someren , a world-famous director who created commercials for the Olympic Games. Tim came up with the British part, I came up with the Ukrainian part, related to the subway and the journey of the Kalush Orchestra. This idea was very important for us, for the entire Suspilne team. You understand when in Britain, people can hold festivals, gather for events – people in Ukraine spent many months of their lives in the subway, gave birth there, sang songs, hid from rocket fire. The National Selection and other cool Ukrainian creative projects took place there. The 1+1 team, which was responsible for the production of the Ukrainian part, also added their cool ideas: with Maria Prymachenko, with Banksy. Despite the large number of co-creators, we turned out a very coherent work.
What is Eurovision 2023 to you? If you could put your opinion into one short sentence, what would you say?
Oh, I can’t be brief about this Eurovision. First, for me this is probably a historic event in my life. I am very grateful for this honour, it is an experience I will never forget.
How was this year’s Eurovision Song Contest? How do you feel about it now, after the end of the competition?
It was a unique Eurovision, it cannot be compared with any other. It took place in unprecedented conditions when one country held a competition on behalf of another. And at the beginning, perhaps no one understood what “on behalf of Ukraine” means. It took almost a year for this understanding, in fact, the preparation lasted from October to May. There were precedents when one country won and another hosted. Our case is unique, because from the beginning, when Great Britain took on the obligation, the BBC clearly stated: “We will do this Eurovision on behalf of Ukraine.” The same words of Sam Ryder that it will be a Ukrainian party in Britain, a Ukrainian holiday. What kind of holiday can be when people die in Ukraine? It was one of the key issues for us – to find a balance and keep Eurovision in a way that people enjoy watching.
It was a unique Eurovision. Has your perception of the competition changed after this year?
Eurovision is a big venue, a powerful platform. It is more than a competition, and this year’s Eurovision proved it. In unique circumstances, the circumstances of the war in Europe, Eurovision became the place where 37 countries united around common values. Ukraine’s victory in 2022 had great symbolism and meaning, Ukraine needed this victory for moral elevation, for understanding that we are not alone. This year, the Eurovision Song Contest was a victory for us, something Ukrainians can be proud of.
You can watch the full interview on Ukraine’s Eurovision YouTube channel:
Source: eurovoix
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