Who is going to Eurovision?
Even though the organizing committee of this popular international variety competition has started selling and reserving tickets, Ukraine has still not determined its performer.
It is no secret that an event like Eurovision plays an important role in enhancing Ukraine’s international image, while the performer who competes in it has an excellent chance of achieving stardom. Ruslana Lyzhychko’s victory at Eurovision ‘04 was a tangible, resonant, and, most importantly, positive statement made by independent Ukraine, and it has already gone down in history. In this context, the struggle for a “place under the sun” as Ukraine’s contestant at Eurovision, which was fought in previous years, seemed totally logical.
This year little Eurovision excitement has been noted. While tickets are being sold in Helsinki, and the organizing committee has started issuing accreditation to journalists, the question of the Ukrainian contestant is undecided. Who is going to Eurovision 2007 and what song will be performed?
The Daytalked to the National Television Company of Ukraine (NTKU), as the organizer of the national Eurovision selection. According to NTKU press secretary Lilia Kavetska, there is no deadline for the announcement of the Eurovision contestant’s name, so national selections will continue until Feb. 10. This means that applications will be accepted from anyone who wants to take part in the competition. Various forms of selection were practiced in previous years: contests and internal NTKU voting (Oleksandr Ponomariov and Ruslana Lyzhychko were chosen that way). This time decisions on candidates will be made by the board of the NTKU, which will have the final say in naming the Ukrainian contestant, as the company is an official member of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU).
Olena Zahorodniuk, deputy director of the television association Music and Entertainment Programs, says that among the top selection criteria are the performer’s creative potential and the music. After a choice is made, a register will be drawn up and officially sealed (audiences will not cast their votes for participants; this will be done by audiences in the European countries taking part in the contest). In addition to selecting a performer, the NTKU is directly responsible for communications between the performer’s management and the EBU administration, as well as for visa, other paperwork, and accreditation. The financial aspect of preparing a performer is the sponsor’s responsibility. The budget depends on the candidate’s preliminary preparedness and is in the neighborhood of 250,000 dollars.
There are only three applicants so far, and none of them are Ukrainian pop stars. Zahorodniuk cannot pick a favorite yet because “applications are still being submitted.” When asked about the decline in the selection competition compared to previous years, the NTCU people said that last year and the year before the selection process was open. “Last year’s competition was absolutely transparent. There was only one attempt to start a scandal; a letter signed by a group of creative individuals, including the composer Oleksandr Zlotnyk. But when he found out that the whole affair was about his pupil Tina Karol, he publicly apologized, but not in an open letter,” The Daywas told by the NKKU’s press service. Incidentally, Karol proved a worthy Ukrainian contestant at Eurovision 2006, placing seventh, so this year’s contestant will not have to struggle through the qualifiers and will start competing in the semifinals.
Unofficial sources point to several well-known performers as possible Eurovision 2007 contestants. Andrii Danylko tops the list (this is the third year that he is trying out for Eurovision). If you remember the shocking rock group Lordi’s win at last year’s contest, our glamorous ex-train conductor Verka Serdiuchka may not be a bad option.
As a rule, all contestants copy the previous year’s winner a bit and everyone knows this. After Ruslana’s “Wild Dances” every second Eurovision 2005 contestant appeared on stage at Kyiv’s Sports Palace with drums and tambourines, and even the Greek singer Helena Pararizou’s song “My Number One” was clearly influenced by Lyzhychko’s performance.
Lordi’s victory in Athens can be described as an extraordinary occurrence, or the audience’s protest against 23 variations on the Pararizou theme. This phenomenon can be explained simply: after eating too many sweets, you want to taste something different, like a pickled cucumber.
Among the candidates for the trip to Eurovision 2007 in Sweden some mention the names of the chansonnier Vitalii Kozlovsky and the strong-voiced Olena Vlasova, who has returned to the stage after maternity leave. At any rate, we will soon learn the Ukrainian contestant’s name.
There is another important question: what song will be performed and who wrote it — or will write it. There isn’t much time left. An audio— and video recording of the number has to be submitted to the organizing committee in March. The recording must be given radio and television airplay, and a presentation tour of European countries has to be completed, as the Eurovision semifinals are scheduled for May 10 and the finals for May 12.
