Blocking of Zelenskiy a sour note at Eurovision final

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says he’s disappointed by the decision to block Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy from addressing the grand final of the Eurovision Song Contest.

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) which produces the event, has declined Zelenskiy’s request to speak on Saturday over fears it could politicise the contest.

He had wanted to make an unannounced video appearance and had been expected to implore the global audience of millions to continue backing his country in its fight to repel Russian invaders.

The EBU said the Ukraine leader had “laudable intentions” but “regrettably” his request was against the rules.

On Friday, a spokesman for Sunak said the Prime Minister believed it would be fitting for President Zelenskiy to address the event.

“The values and freedoms that President Zelenskiy and the people of Ukraine are fighting for are not political, they’re fundamental, and Eurovision themselves recognised that last year when they rightly suspended Russia’s participation from the competition.”

Zelenskiy later thanked the UK for hosting the event on Ukraine’s behalf.

Ukraine’s Kalush Orchestra won last year’s contest but, owing to the Russian invasion of the country, hosting duties were passed to the UK as the runner-up.

Liverpool City Region mayor Steve Rotheram said he would be speaking with both the Ukrainian ambassador and the mayor of Lviv, who are both in the city for the final, “to discuss what we can do to provide a platform” for Zelesnky.

The BBC has said the broadcast of this year’s contest is expected to be watched by more than 160 million viewers worldwide.

It comes after the full line-up of the grand final was revealed following the second knockout round on Thursday night.

After 16 countries competed, the 10 remaining spots went to Poland, Australia, Cyprus, Albania, Estonia, Belgium, Austria, Lithuania, Armenia and Slovenia.

They will join the so-called “big five” nations – the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain – who each get a free pass because of their financial contributions to the event, along with last year’s winners Ukraine.