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OGAE Ukraine withdraws from the OGAE Song Contest

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OGAE Ukraine has announced it will not participate in the OGAE Song Contest 2022.  As we informed before, OGAE Ukraine had requested the disqualification of OGAE Russia as a consequence of the ongoing war.

However, OGAE International did not agree with their request.  As a consequence, OGAE Ukraine withdrew their participation citing legal and moral reasons.  Moreover, in their statement OGAE Ukraine says their branch intends not to participate in any event organized by OGAE International in which OGAE Russia is also participating.

We are deeply saddened by the decision of the clubs that supported the continuation of OGAE Russia’s participation in the activities of the international society of Eurovision Song Contest fans, as well as with the fact that the main idea of this event — to prevent war on the European continent — was distorted.

This decision do not come as a surprise.  In their initial request, OGAE Ukraine warned that their club would not compete with a club they accuse of supporting the acts of their government.

OGAE Australia is hosting the OGAE Song Contest 2022 after Tones and I won in 2021 with ‘Fly Away’.

We are saddened by this development and hope we will see Ukraine participating again under normal circumstances.

 

“OGAE Russia allegedly supports actions of their government!”

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OGAE Russia has allegedly published an article that makes reference to the Ukraine-Russia war.  Although the article is from February 26 when the war had started, OGAE Ukraine brought it back into the public eye.

As we previously informed, OGAE Ukraine asked OGAE International to disqualify Russia from its annual OGAE Song Contest.  However, the request from OGAE Ukraine has received mixed responses.  There are people who agree to support this petition to show support to Ukraine.  On the other hand, there are fans that consider such a ban would be a “punishment” against Russian artists and fans.  It must be highlighted that OGAE is a fans only organization with no connections to the government of the country.

OGAE Russia publication

 

OGAE Russia published the message above on their website which is still available in this link.  In the last message OGAE Russia is apparently giving a contradictory message stating they are an apolitical organization but at the same time supporting the war.  The sentence roughly translates:

OGAE Russia considers it necessary to express its apolitical position on what is happening in support of the actions of our country. 

OGAE Ukraine has condemned this message.  In a recent publication on Instagram, OGAE Ukraine points out that “this means NOT the support for broadcasters’ decisions, NOT the support for artists, but the support for the actions of their country specifically.  Additionally, they mention that in their statement, OGAE Russia used the picture of a house in Ukraine hit by a Russan missile.

According to OGAE Ukraine, their condemnation also extends to one of the chosen Russian contestants. Vladimir Presniakov has  supposedly expressed his support for the war and took part in a concert in support of the Russian invasion.

 

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for more updates in this and other eurovision related news!