Ukranian broadcaster NTU confirmed on Friday that they will indeed be participating in Baku at the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest when a press conference was held announcing the date of their national final as the 10th of February.
Those wishing to take part can already send in their entries – NTU have indicated that the final deadline to submit entries will be on Christmas Day, the 25th of December. Ukraine have since their debut an enviable track record at the contest, with one victory, two second places, two top ten finishes and last year’s 4th placing from Mika Newton with Angel. And all of this with only 9 entries in total! Their national finals however have provided more cliffhangers and drama than your average american soap opera, with controversies such as the Mika/Jamala débâcle doing little to help the credibility of the broadcaster and of its selection methods.
Scepticism aside however, NTU have confirmed that they will be holding a semi final on the 20th of January, with 19 entries advancing from here to the final, one final participant also being selected through the Show #1, thus bringing the starting field up to 20 participants all in all. NTU have apparently also learned from their mistakes following last year’s scandal, stating that they aim to work even harder, more transparent and more determined when searching for the successor to Mika Newton. The evenutal winner of February’s final will be selected using a combination of votes from a professional jury together with SMS votes.
Hopefully next year’s Ukranian selection will see a more democratic process take place with more focus on the actual music and not the scandals from behind the scenes.
