The National Public Broadcasting Company of Ukraine announced yesterday that Ukraine is withdrawing from the Eurovision Song Contest 2019. The decision was made after a scandal erupted between the broadcaster and winning performer MARUV.

NOTU wrote on Facebook: “The Public Broadcaster, as it does annually, offered to conclude a contract to represent Ukraine at the Eurovision song contest. However, after negotiations, MARUV refused to sign the contract. The alternative way to determine the representative from Ukraine to the Eurovision 2019 according to the rules, could have been direct appointment by the broadcaster. That is, the Public Broadcasting Company could nominate any performer not from the list of participants in the National Selection. However, the Public Broadcaster opted not to use this option, because it respects the choice of the audience in the National Selection. Therefore, in the situation of non-signing of the contract on the participation in the Eurovision with the winner Public Broadcaster has approached the finalists who have finished second and third in the National Selection final.”

MARUV's track, Siren Song, won the local selection on Saturday. She was given 24 hours to sign a contract that temporarily barred her from performing in Russia (three months in the period of her Eurovision participation). The 27-year-old, whose name real name is Anna Korsun, said she was prepared to cancel her next tour of Russia, but that other stipulations in the contract amounted to "censorship".

"I am a citizen of Ukraine, pay taxes and sincerely love Ukraine," she wrote on Facebook. "But I am not ready to address [people] with slogans, turning my participation in the contest into the promotion of our politicians. I am a musician, rather than a bat at the political stage." The star, whose song has been watched 6.8 million times on YouTube, added: "I sincerely thank and appreciate everyone who believed in me and voted. I ask you to accept this situation and not to take a confrontational path."

Yesterday, the next three acts in the ranking, Freedom Jazz, KAZKA and Burnettes Shoot Blondes, also refused to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019.

“The Song Contest is an opportunity for every country to declare itself in the international arena, and for each performer to act as the ambassador of their country and to win the supporters across the globe. But the National Selection 2019 revealed and attracted the attention of our society to the systemic problem of the music industry in Ukraine: the connections of artists with the show business on the territory of the aggressor state (Russia), which are still very tight at the 5th year of the military conflict. For a part of society, this fact is acceptable, in the other part it causes indignation and rejection.

The laws of Ukraine do not provide any restrictions on the work of performers and artists on the territory of the Russian Federation despite the large public request to resolve this situation. In the current situation, following the Law on Public Broadcasting, as well as in conditions of excessive politicization of the national selection process, the Public Broadcaster has decided to withdraw from the participation in the International Eurovision Song Contest 2019.

The Public Broadcaster considers it necessary to initiate a public dialogue in the format of talk shows, forums and discussions with the participation of leading experts in the field to formulate the position of the Ukrainian society on this issue, as well as the development of proposals for a draft law of Ukraine that could regulate the situation with the cooperation of Ukrainian artists with the state-aggressor for the future,” NOTU concluded.

From EBU, organizers of the Eurovision Song Contest, commented: “Each participating broadcaster is responsible for the selection of their act for the Eurovision Song Contest in accordance to the rules set out by the European Broadcasting Union. It is with sadness that the EBU can confirm that Ukraine’s broadcaster UA:PBC has informed the EBU that, following further discussions, they have made the difficult decision to withdraw from the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest. There will be further discussions between the EBU and UA:PBC on this matter but we hope to see them again in 2020. However, for now, we look forward to what is already shaping up to be a fantastic event in Tel Aviv in May.”

There has also been a reaction from the Ukrainian government which has directed NOTU to change the rules of the local selection in order to avoid such controversies in the future. STB, which co-organizes the National Vidbir, said that it will reconsider its future cooperation with UA:Pershy on this project.