The Executive Board of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has decided to exclude any Russian entry in this year’s contest as it would only lead to disrepute. The statement was released last Friday, February 25, along with plans of holding Eurovision 2022 in Turin, Italy this coming May.
The EBU board stated that their decision was recommended by the Reference Group (RG), which is the board’s governing body in terms of developing values of the union and in establishing rules of events. In turn, the Television Committee of the European Broadcasting Union supported the EBU Board’s decision of excluding Russian entries in the forthcoming event in May.
Rationale behind the EBU’s Decision to Ban Russian Entries in Eurovision 2022
The statement of the EBU Board also mentioned that their dedication remains focused in protecting the values of the cultural competition. The Eurovision competition brings together different cultures as audience, to promote international understanding and exchange by uniting Europe in a single stage where diversity is celebrated through music.
Historically, a lot of Ukrainians have engaged in the cultural boycott of EBU events as part of the country’s assertion that it is a nation separate from Russia. It’s actually a national project given as response to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s claim that Ukraine has no national identity of its own.
https://youtu.be/U7-dxzp6Jvs
It can be recalled that a separatist rebellion was incited in Luhansk and Donetsk, located in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region after Russia seized Crimea in 2014. The rebellion has now escalated into to a war instigated by Putin in an effort to invade and officially annex Ukraine as part of Russia’s territory.