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Russia: Announces its withdrawal from the EBU!

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All Russian state media that were members of the EBU (VGTRK, Channel One and Radiodom Ostankino) announced their withdrawal from the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) in response to Russia’s removal from Eurovision 2022.

The announcement of the Russian broadcasters states:

Broadcasters see Russia’s withdrawal from the competition as an “inappropriate political sacrifice” in a music forum that has always emphasized its non-political status.
Russia’s ouster is the latest, but it is far from the first of such Eurovision-related decisions. So in 2016 Ukraine won with the song “1944”, which is an open political manifesto. At the same time, a few years later, the organizers of the competition excluded Belarus, saying that their song had political messages.
These are just two examples of the many, where the organizers of the competition approached the interpretation of the term “politics” “biased and selective”. According to the All-Russian State Television and Radio Company, the EBU is fulfilling the will of the European Union, although half of the members of the European Broadcasting Union are television channels and radio stations from outside the EU.

In our previous article, we told you that Russia’s reaction to the EBU’s decision to expel the country from the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest was expected. The reaction came a while ago and is the most intense that could happen.

Russia: Slavia Simonova would represent the country at Eurovision 2022!

It remains to be seen whether Russia’s withdrawal will be permanent or only this year. Of course, the above development means that Russia will not be present at Junior Eurovision 2021 in Armenia either.

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the updates!

Source: RIA

Russia: Slavia Simonova would represent the country at Eurovision 2022!

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Now we can reveal it, after yesterday’s interview of Artur Gasparyan a well-known journalist in Russia, that 18-year-old Slavia Simonova would represent the country at Eurovision 2022!

As early as February 13, we had informed you with our Tweet that Russia this year would probably be represented by an artist who was not among the artists who had been heard in the previous period.

Russia 1 was chosen by 18-year-old Slavia Simonova, the winner of a talent show on the channel, a singer mainly of jazz music and with a vision problem.

Dream Team was opposed to this choice, which as it is known proposed Klava Koka, but also another male artist that unfortunately we can not reveal. The decision for Slavia Simonova was made several days before the Russian invasion and the reason for the delay in its announcement was that until the end there were negotiations with the Dream Team in order for Russia 1 to work with them this year as well. However, the fact that the Dream Team considered that the selection of Slavia would not bring the desired result, insisting until the end on its other two proposals, led the team to the decision not to cooperate with Russia this year.

It is worth noting that the song with which Yaroslava Simonova would represent Russia at Eurovision 2022, was her own composition and was ready. In fact, very soon we would have had the official announcements.

We remind you that Russia will not participate in Eurovision 2022 after a relevant decision of the EBU, due to the invasion of Ukraine. We are now waiting with interest for Russia’s reaction to this decision.

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the developments!

Finland: Broadcaster Yle states they won’t participate if EBU allows Russia’s participation in Turin!

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The developments regarding Russia’s participation in Eurovision 2022 and the rest of the countries’ reactions are truly rapid. Following the statements of the public broadcasters of Sweden, Norway, Denmark and the Netherlands, the broadcaster of Finland (Yle) also asks the EBU not to allow the participation of Russia, while going one step further, stating that in case Russia’s participation is eventually allowed, then they are not going to send their own representative to Turin!

Russia’s attack on Ukraine runs counter to all the values ​​represented by Yle and other European broadcasters. Yle has always defended western democracy, the rule of law, freedom of expression and human dignity. Yle can not take part in an event where Russia, which has blatantly attacked these values, can use one of Europe’s best-known brands to promote its own interests. We hope the EBU will act in accordance with its values.

Yle

Finland is due to select its representative for Eurovision 2022 tomorrow, Saturday, February 26th.

For the countries that have already spoken up against Russia’s participation in Eurovision 2022, you can refer to our previous article.

We remind you that the EBU, at the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, stated the following:

The Eurovision Song Contest is a non-political – cultural event that unites countries and celebrates differences through music. EBU members in both Russia and Ukraine have pledged to attend this year’s event in Turin and we intend to welcome them and let artists from both countries participate in May. Of course, we continue to monitor developments closely.

EBU

What will the EBUs reaction be after the pressure it’s receiving from several of its members? What will the final decision on Russia’s participation in Eurovision 2022 be?

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the developments!

Eurovision 2022: After Sweden, four more countries take a stance against Russia’s participation in Turin!

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The EBU‘s response about Russia’s participation in Eurovision 2022 did not satisfy Norway, Denmark, Lithuania and the Netherlands which, after Sweden, ask the EBU to reconsider its decision and not allow Russia to participate in the competition.

Following the request of the Ukrainian public television for expulsion of the corresponding Russian from the EBU, the latter in a statement underlined the apolitical nature of the competition and that it has no authority to punish its members (public radio and television), for acts committed by governments of their countries.

The Eurovision Song Contest is a non-political – cultural event that unites countries and celebrates differences through music. EBU members in both Russia and Ukraine have pledged to attend this year’s event in Turin and we intend to welcome them and let artists from both countries participate in May. Of course, we continue to monitor developments closely.

EBU

However, this response did not satisfy Sweden, which, through SVT CEO Hanna Stjärne, asked the EBU to reconsider its decision on Russia. Today, four more broadcasters have been added to the list, those of Lithuania, Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands.

Lithuania‘s general director of public television, Monika Garbaciauskaite, said in a statement today that she would soon raise the issue of Russia’s participation with the EBU. Norwegian public broadcaster has also just released a statement taking a clear stance. In a similar climate, the Danish public television informed the EBU that it is opposed to Russia’s participation in Eurovision 2022 and so did the dutch one AVROTROS a few minutes ago.

However, we have also had statements from the television of Finland, which, although they state that it is the responsibility of the EBU to make any decision regarding Russia’s participation, emphasize that they are closely monitoring the issue and will take a position on it soon.

Eurovision 2022 artists have also started taking a stance against Russia’s participation in Eurovision 2022, as this year’s representatives of Latvia, Citi Zēni, have also personally asked the EBU not to allow the country that started a war in Europe to take part in the competition.

https://twitter.com/citi_zeni/status/1496959252925014017?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1496959252925014017%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Feurovisionfun.com%2F2022%2F02%2Feurovision-2022-CEBCCEB5CF84CEAC-CF84CEB7CEBD-CF83CEBFCF85CEB7CEB4CEAFCEB1-CEB4CEB1CEBDCEAFCEB1-CEBACEB1CEB9-CEBBCEB9CEB8CEBFCF85CEB1CEBD%2F

We are awaiting with interest the reactions from the other members of the EBU, but also for the final decision regarding Russia’s participation in Eurovision 2022.

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all developments!

Russia is welcome at Eurovision 2022, says EBU | Sweden’s SVT asks to review this decision!

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The EBU in its statements today, immediately after the start of the Russian attack on Ukraine, stated that Russia remains welcome at Eurovision 2022.

Russia is welcome in Eurovision 2o22

Following the EBU’s statement that Russia remains open to the Eurovision Song Contest 2022, the SVT CEO of the Swedish public service broadcaster called on the EBU to reconsider.

The Eurovision Song Contest is a non-political cultural event that unites countries and celebrates differences through music. EBU members in both Russia and Ukraine have committed to participating in this year’s event in Turin and we intend to welcome and let artists from both countries participate in May. Of course, we continue to follow developments closely.

EBU

Sweden is asking EBU reconsider its decision

Speaking to the GP, Hanna Stjärne, CEO of SVT, shared her thoughts on the EBU statement, noting:

The EBU needs to rethink. I sympathise with the basic idea of ​​Eurovision as an apolitical event. But the situation in Europe is extremely serious, with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It crosses all boundaries. We have called on the EBU to change and will follow developments closely.

SVT

SVT is the first broadcaster to comment publicly on whether Russia should be able to compete in Eurovision 2022, following the invasion of Ukraine this morning.

Ukraine demands expulsion of Russia from the EBU

Earlier, Ukrainian public television asked the EBU to suspend membership of the Russian Public Television Association. Specifically they state:

key values ​​of public service broadcasting;
ensuring freedom of speech and information; free formation of points of view;
development of intercultural dialogue;

In a letter to the President of the European Broadcasting Union, Delphine Ernotte, the Chairman of the Board of Suspilne Mykola Chernotytskyy called on the EBU to:

We recognize that the process of terminating or suspending EBU membership requires careful consideration by the EBU Executive Board and referral to the EBU General Assembly. In the meantime, we call on the EBU to respond now to the unacceptable situation caused by Russia with the support of its essentially state broadcasters that are members of the EBU.

You can read the full letter here.

Should the EBU choose to suspend its membership from Russia, this will be the second time in 12 months that a broadcaster has lost its membership of the EBU. In July 2021, the Belarusian public broadcaster was suspended as a member of the EBU for failing to fulfill its obligations of freedom of expression.

In the top 3 of bets is Ukraine, except for the top 20 is Russia

While all of the above is happening, Ukraine has risen again in betting, despite the replacement of Alina Pash with the Kalush Orchestra. At the moment it is in the third place, in contrast to Russia which is in a continuous descent in the last hours, as a result of which it is in the 21st place at the time of writing!

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the developments!

 

Russia: Three artists for the final selection | Dream Team’s participation is in doubt | EXCLUSIVE

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This year’s entry of Russia in the Eurovision Song Contest will literally be announced in the last minute. The country’s public television, even at the time of writing, has not yet reached the song, nor the artist, who will represent Russia in Turin, with three names remaining on the table.

Three artists are still in the crisis of the Russian public television, Russia 1, for the representation of the country in Eurovision 2022. Although we are in the last ten days of February, Russia 1 has not made its final decisions.

Today 22/2, the Dream Team had another meeting for this purpose, with the management of the Russian public television, to discuss these three names. Two of them are women and one is a male artist.

According to our exclusive information, the Dream Team would undertake the difficult task of this year’s Russian representation in the competition (judging by the general political developments), in case one of the two artists they have proposed to Russia 1 for several months was selected. However, if the third artist on this list is finally selected, then the possibility that Dream Team will not represent Russia this year is the most probable.

The final decision as mentioned above has not been made, although it is expected to be finalized in the next 24 hours. Of course, due to time pressure, the song will be released at the end of the deadline, ie on the weekend of March 12-13.

We are waiting with interest for the final decisions of the Russian public television, on which, of course, the decisions of the Dream Team will depend. The only thing that is certain is that Russia will normally take part in Eurovision 2022, regardless of political developments.

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the developments regarding the Russian participation in Eurovision 2022!

Russia: Dream Team is in Moscow in view of the final choice for the country’s representation!

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The Dream Team (Dimitris Kontopoulos and Ilias Kokotos) is in Moscow, as we see through their social network accounts. This trip to the Russian capital is the most important one, in relation to the representation of the country in Eurovision 2022.

It is no secret that every second year, when channel Russia 1 undertakes the participation of Russia in the competition, the channel cooperates with the Dream Team, which in fact has brought them a lot of good results so far. It is also no secret that one of the names with which the Dream Team would like to collaborate for Eurovision 2022 is the superstar Klava Koka. In fact, Klava Koka was in Athens a few months ago, recording in the studio of Dimitris Kontopoulos, probably a potential song for the competition.

Of course, nothing should be taken for granted, since if the artist who Russia 1 has chosen does not satisfy the Dream Team as a choice, then it is not at all unlikely that they will eventually not be chosen for this year’s Russian participation.

It remains to be seen what the decisions of both the Russian public television and the Dream Team will be. The time for the final decision in Russia has arrived!

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the developments regarding the Russian participation in Eurovision 2022!

Odds: Spectacular drop in Russia’s odds in a few hours!

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Although it’s too early to base bets and odds on the Eurovision winner, a frantic drop in Russian odds in the last few hours has prompted us to write this article.

Russia with power at the top

As usual at the beginning of each Eurovision season, when there is still no specific information about the participants, but not many songs, the countries leading the betting race are Sweden, Italy, Russia and the countries in general that last year did well in the competition.

The same was true of the odds for the winner of Eurovision 2022, where in first place we had Sweden, followed by Norway, Italy, France and Russia, with very small differences between them.

In the last few hours, however, Russia has dropped its performance too much, overtaking not only in the first place, but with a big difference from the rest. Characteristically, as you can see below, Russia currently has a 14% chance of winning based on the odds (a large percentage for the time being), with Sweden now in second place with only 6%.

 

What is the reason for this sudden change?

Usually such a sudden change in odds for a country is justified either by the release of the song, or by the leak of some information that bookmakers consider very important.

Three artists are rumored so far to represent Russia at Eurovision 2022. These are Klava Koka, Alexander Panayotov and finally Diana Ankudinova. All of them are very big names in the Russian music scene.

As in previous years, RTR, which for 2022 is responsible for the selection of Russia to participate in the contest, is expected to work with the Dream Team, with the aim of course to bring the country higher than the ninth place that Manizha took in Rotterdam.

According to our exclusive information, so far the Russian public television has not reached the artist who will represent it next May in Turin, although the relevant discussions have begun.

We will follow with interest the evolution of the betting odds for Eurovision 2022, while of course at Eurovisionfun you will be informed about all the details of the Russian participation as soon as there is something to be announced…

Who will represent Russia at Eurovision 2022?

Russia: Dima Bilan recalls his Eurovision past | Is he preparing for his third participation?

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He is one of the most popular artists in his country and the only winner of Eurovision for Russia (2008 with Believe). We are talking, of course, about Dima Bilan, who at the age of 39 seems to have a strong desire to be on the stage of the contest for the third time.

With Dima Bilan, Russia in Eurovision 2022?

Earlier, through a video he posted on his social networks, Dima Bilan recalls his first entry in the competition in 2006 in Athens, where with Never Let You Go, he took second place. Commenting, Duma Bilan states:

Do you remember how Eurovision brings people together? What a strong spirit of support and integration? Wasn’t it nice? Should we repeat it…?

 

Δείτε αυτή τη δημοσίευση στο Instagram.

 

Η δημοσίευση κοινοποιήθηκε από το χρήστη Dima Bilan (@bilanofficial)

The video has garnered over 50,000 likes in four hours, and the responses to comments on Dima Bilan’s possible return to the Eurovision Song Contest are more than encouraging.

Russia at Eurovision 2022

As usual, Russia surprises us with its decisions for its respective participations in the competition, since little information sees the light of day, before the official announcements.

Responsible for Russia’s entry in Eurovision in 2022 is the Russia 1, with which Philipp Kirkorov has been collaborating with the Dream Team in recent years. Apart from the shocking unexpected, the Russia channel will trust the same team again this year, which has also brought them significant successes. This year’s ninth place of Manizha and Russian Woman, a song that was especially loved by fans, but found itself in relatively low positions for Russia, especially in the public voting, proved that no country alone has a guaranteed place in the top 5…

Although it is still early and the first processes have started in Russia, it is no coincidence that in the summer Dimitris Kontopoulos and Elias Kokotos were in Moscow, where they also had meetings with various artists. The fact is that we are far from any decisions, but the interest of Dima Bilan is also a given.

After this year’s mediocre position for the data of Russia, but also the low numbers in the television viewing, the channel Russia will want a popular artist, who will raise the numbers and the interest, hoping of course to win a very good position. In this equation, Dima Bilan can be the solution…

Below is the first entry of Dima Bilan in the competition:

Would you like to see Dima Bilan again at the Eurovision Song Contest?

Russia: Philipp Kirkorov in the spotlight – Zivert’s chances for Eurovision are reduced!

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A big controversy broke out yesterday in the Russian showbiz with Russian pop singer and member of the Dream Team, Philipp Kirkorov and the producer of the singer Svetlana Loboda, Natella Krapivina, as the main actors.

The occasion was the appearance of Philipp Kirkorov with the influencer-rapper Dava Manukyan on the red carpet of the Muz Tv awards and the photo they uploaded, in which they are surrounded by half-naked men.

The specific post on Instagram was commented by Natella Krapivina, producer and director of Svetlana Loboda, writing “Horror show in every way. “In the old days in the Caucasus, such people were cut up and made into kebabs.”

Krapivina’s comment was answered by Phillip Kirkorov, posting a video on Instagram, in which he directly accused her of arrogance, toxicity and hypocrisy, as she claims that she is progressive, while at the same time she wishes people to die. In the same post he blamed her for the fact that a Loboda appearance had strong similarities with an older Beyonce appearance.

Philipp Kirkorov has received rave reviews from celebrities such as Little Big Sonya, Melovin and Natalia Gordienko.

The famous Russian singer Zivert, however, seems to have liked Krapivina’s initial comment, something that Dava Manukyan also noticed, accusing her on Instagram of hypocrisy, since she has collaborated with Kirkorov. At the same time, Dava asked Kirkorov “not to cooperate in the future with people who smile at them but want to send them to the barbecue.”

Therefore, although it was one of the most rumored names, Zivert’s chances of representing Russia at Eurovision 2022 in collaboration with the Dream Team seem to be significantly reduced.

Meanwhile, Krapivina announced the end of its cooperation with Loboda and its departure from Russian showbiz.

In a video she posted, she admitted that her comment was harsh, explaining that she was not addressing all members of the LGBT community but the “atalants promoted by Kirkorov” and the “circus of Russian showbiz”. In addition, she stated that she proves her tolerance every day and accused Philipp Kirkorov of distorting her comment, while he has not actively supported members of the LGBT community in Russia. He also referred to previous incidents with Kirkorov, the fact that Loboda is the producer of a great success and claimed that Kirkorov repeatedly asked Loboda to cooperate in recent months, but she refused.

Svetlana Loboda on the other hand stated that her views do not coincide with those of her (former) producer and apologized to anyone who was offended or hurt.

Meanwhile, Roskomnadzor (Russia’s Communications, Information and Media Supervision Service) said it would investigate Muz Tv Awards material for violations of a law banning the promotion of “non-traditional sex with minors”. during the day and without the sign 18+. It is the law that was passed in Russia in 2013, became known as the “law of gay propaganda” and was condemned by the international community.

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the news regarding Eurovision Song Contest!