Rishi Sunak has condemned the decision by Eurovision bosses to ban Volodymyr Zelenskyy from delivering an address at Saturday night’s grand final.
The event’s organisers, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), turned down the Ukrainian president’s request to speak because they want the contest to remain “non-political”.
“The Eurovision Song Contest is an international entertainment show and governed by strict rules and principles which have been established since its creation,” the EBU said.
“As part of these, one of the cornerstones of the contest is the non-political nature of the event.
“This principle prohibits the possibility of making political or similar statements as part of the contest.”
Liverpool is hosting this year’s event because Ukraine - which won last year’s contest - is unable to do so.
Asked about the decision to turn down Zelenskyy’s request to speak, a Number 10 spokesperson said the government was “disappointed”.
“The values and freedoms that President Zelenskyy and the people of Ukraine are fighting for are not political, they’re fundamental, and Eurovision themselves recognised that last year when they rightly suspended Russia’s participation from the competition,” he said.
The spokesperson added: “The prime minister thinks it would be fitting for President Zelenskyy to address the event, given that we’re hosting it on behalf of Ukraine.”
Former PM Boris Johnson also said Zelenskyy should speak at tomorrow night’s event.
Earlier this week, Zelenskyy said the UK was not his first choice as an alternative venue for this year’s Eurovision.
He told public service broadcasters he would have preferred a country geographically closer to Ukraine host the event in his country’s name, ideally one which shared a border.
According to the BBC, he explained that this would have allowed “our people to travel to and be very close” to the huge event.
But, he insisted he’s still pleased it is going ahead, adding that he had “lots of respect” for Britain, which he described as an “amazing country”.