It seems like it is settled that the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest will be held in Kyiv, Ukraine after all. After months of speculations the producers of the show were announced today. This should hopefully mean the contest is back on track.
It has been a tough half year for Ukrainian broadcaster NTU. Following their Eurovision victory came months of public bashing between potential host cities, the decision being delayed and many essential things not yet being in place. And if that wasn’t enough then General Director of the broadcaster walked out of the door in the middle of preparations.
After months with speculations of whether or not the many delays would force EBU, the European Broadcasting Union, to take the contest away from Ukraine, we now hope things are settled. Today’s announcement of the executive producers for the 2017 contest will be seen as a clarification.
Who are the producers?
Stuart Barlow has been announced as Show Producer for the 2017 song contest. He has worked on several Eurovision Cong Contests since 2011.
The deputy Director General of broadcaster NTU, Victoria Romanova has also joined the team. She has been Head of Delegation for Ukraine since 2007. Victoria headed the winning delegation in 2016. She will be joined by Oleksandr Kherabin who has replaced former Director General of the NTU, Zurab Alasania who resigned in November.
Jon Ola Sand, Executive Producer of the Eurovision Song Contest had this to say about the Producers. “We are thrilled that Victoria and Oleksandr have officially joined the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) production team for Kyiv 2017. Of course, they have both been instrumental in getting the process to this point since Ukraine won in Stockholm earlier this year. Both have the full confidence of the EBU and the ESC Reference Group“. He stated that the EBU had every confidence that Victoria and Oleksandr can produce three superb shows.
In relation to Stuart Barlow, he added “Stuart Barlow, well known to everyone at the Song Contest for his invaluable contribution over the years, is also a first-class appointment as Show Producer. Stuart has great expertise in live television broadcasting and has been part of the Eurovision Family for many years. He will bring an enormous wealth of knowledge which will benefit NTU in producing this year’s contest and has already been working closely with EBU and NTU on looking at what is needed to bring together what will be a wonderful 62nd Eurovision Song Contest in Kyiv”
Update 2nd December:
Denis Bloschinskiy has been announced as the Local Event Manager for the contest. A member of Kyiv based band Nesprosta, Denis is also the co-founder of З країни в Україну (with the country in Ukraine). It is a foundation and association of people who want to see Ukraine as a modern and coherent state while promoting the unique culture and traditions of the country.
Denis will be working behind the scenes at the contest stating that he will not be dealing with the televised part of the competition. It is understood that he will be working closely with Victoria Romanova and Oleksandr Kherabin,
Eurovision Song Contest 2017
The Eurovision Song Contest is scheduled to take place on the 9th, 11th and 13th of May at the National Exhibition Centre in Kyiv, Ukraine. It is expected that the semi final allocation draw will take place in January.
The opening ceremony of the contest is expected to take place at Maryinsky Palace in Maryinsky Park in central Kyiv. Originally this was organised to take place in St Sophia Square. However, due pressure from local residents and religious groups, the venue was changed.
