Russia Is Now Barred From Taking Part In This Year’s Eurovision Contest
Russia has been excluded from the list of countries taking part in this year’s Eurovision.
The announcement came following mounting pressure from the broadcasters across Europe, upon the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), who had this to say:
“The EBU has announced that no Russian act will participate in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest.”
“The Executive Board of the EBU made the decision following a recommendation earlier today by the Eurovision Song Contest’s governing body, the Reference Group, based on the rules of the event and the values of the EBU.”
Prior to the news, no less than nine competing countries had appealed to the EBU for Russia’s exclusion from the event. These were Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and of course, Ukraine.
The Eurovision is not the only contest that sees the country’s exclusion, with UEFA and FIA Formula 1 working around any event previously taking place within Russian borders.
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