Russia: Announces its withdrawal from the EBU!
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.
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
