Russia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017

Last updated

Eurovision Song Contest 2017
CountryFlag of Russia.svg  Russia
National selection
Selection processInternal selection
Selection date(s)12 March 2017
Selected entrant Julia Samoylova
Selected song"Flame Is Burning"
Selected songwriter(s)
  • Leonid Gutkin
  • Netta Nimrodi
  • Arie Burshtein
Finals performance
Final resultWithdrawn
Russia in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2016 •2017• 2018►

Russia announced its participation in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017, in Kyiv, Ukraine. The Russian broadcaster Channel One Russia organised their entrant internally. Russia was planned to compete in the first half of the second semifinal on 11 May 2017, until the announcement of their withdrawal on 13 April 2017.

Contents

Background

Prior to the 2017 contest, Russia had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest twenty times since its first entry in 1994. Russia had won the contest on one occasion in 2008 with the song "Believe" performed by Dima Bilan. Russia's least successful result has been 17th place, which they have achieved in the 1995 with the song "Kolybelnaya dlya vulkana" performed by Philipp Kirkorov. Following the introduction of semi-finals for the 2004, Russia has, to this point, managed to qualify to the final on every occasion. In 2015, Russia was the runner-up at the Eurovision Song Contest, placing second with the song "A Million Voices" performed by Polina Gagarina. [1]

Before Eurovision

Internal selection

The Russian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 was internally selected by an expert committee of C1R. Among acts rumoured by several Russian media sites to be considered by the broadcaster were Aleksandr Panayotov, Darya Antonyuk, Elena Temnikova [lower-alpha 1] , Soprano Turetskovo, Nargiz Zakirova, Nyusha [lower-alpha 2] and Julia Samoylova, [2] the latter was ultimately shortlisted along with Antonyuk. On 12 March 2017, Channel One announced that they had internally selected Julia Samoylova, with her song "Flame Is Burning" to represent them at the Eurovision Song Contest 2017. She was described as "an independent singer, an enchanting girl and a successful competition participant". [3]

Shortlisted acts [4]
Darya Antonyuk
Julia Samoylova
Song selection [5] [ better source needed ]
Songwriter(s)Song
Leonid Gutkin"Flame Is Burning"
Philipp Kirkorov and Dimitris Kontopoulos Unknown

Political issues and travel ban

On 13 March 2017, it was revealed that Ukrainian officials had begun an investigation into Samoylova, alleging that in 2015, she had illegally traveled directly to Crimea, a region that was annexed by Russia in 2014, to give a performance. Ukrainian legislation requires visitors to enter the region through points under the control of the Ukrainian government, or risk being banned from entering Ukraine for several years. [3] [6]

In response to these actions, it was speculated that Russia's choice of Samoylova may have been a deliberate political statement, having knowingly picked a singer who had performed in the disputed territory; interior minister advisor Anton Gerashchenko stated that he couldn't "exclude that actions could be taken by our side to deny her entry" if Russia was using the entry as a "provocation", while the deputy director of ATR, a Ukrainian television broadcaster that serves the Crimean Tatar population, argued that it was a "cynical and immoral move". Russia has denied that their choice of performer was meant to be a political statement. [6] [7]

On 22 March 2017, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) confirmed that Samoylova had been banned from entering Ukraine for three years for illegally travelling to Crimea. The EBU stated that it was continuing to ensure that all entrants would be able to perform in Kyiv, but that "we have to respect the local laws of the host country, however we are deeply disappointed in this decision as we feel it goes against both the spirit of the contest and the notion of inclusivity that lies at the heart of its values." [8] On 23 March 2017, EBU offered a compromise to Channel One Russia, in which Samoylova would be allowed to perform remotely from a venue of the broadcaster's choice; it would have been the first time that a Eurovision entry had been performed from an outside venue via satellite. [9]

At Eurovision

The Eurovision Song Contest 2017 took place at the International Exhibition Centre in Kyiv, Ukraine and consisted of two semi-finals on 9 and 11 May and the final on 13 May 2017. [10] According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big Five" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot. [11] In spite of the provisional ban, Russia were included in the running order, in the third slot, after Austria, and before Macedonia. [12]

Withdrawal

On 13 April 2017, EBU stated that Russia will no longer be able to take part in this year’s competition. The Russian state broadcaster Channel One responded by stating that they will not broadcast the contest. [13] [14] [15]

Notes

  1. ↑ Elena later stated that she is unable to take part in Eurovision due to the fact that she had "many concerts planned and had plans to record new songs and dance and acoustic albums"
  2. ↑ Later, Nyusha stated that she will not take part in Eurovision due to the fact that she is "busy"

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Belarus in the Eurovision Song Contest</span> Overview of Belarus participation in the annual song contest

Belarus has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 16 times since making its debut in 2004. The country's first appearance in a final was in 2007, with the song "Work Your Magic" performed by Dmitry Koldun, placing sixth. This remains Belarus' only top ten placement. Belarus also qualified for the final in 2010, 2013, 2014, 2017 and 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Russia in the Eurovision Song Contest</span>

Russia has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 23 times since their debut in 1994. Russia won the 2008 contest with Dima Bilan performing the song "Believe". One of the most successful countries in the contest in the 21st century with a total of ten top five placements, Russia finished second with Alsou in 2000, Dima Bilan in 2006, Buranovskiye Babushki in 2012 and Polina Gagarina in 2015; third with t.A.T.u. in 2003, Serebro in 2007, Sergey Lazarev in 2016 and 2019, and fifth with Dina Garipova in 2013. In 2018, they failed to qualify for the final for the first time in their history. The Russian entry has been chosen through both internal selections and a televised national final titled Evrovidenie, with their most recent entry (2021) being chosen by the latter.

Russia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 in Kyiv, Ukraine. The Russian entry was selected through a national final, organised by the Russian broadcaster Channel One Russia (C1R). Natalia Podolskaya represented Russia with the song "Nobody Hurt No One", which placed 15th and scored 57 points at the contest.

Ukraine participated the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 with the song "Razom nas bahato" written by Roman Kalyn, Roman Kostyuk and Mikola Kulinich. The song was performed by the duo GreenJolly. In addition to participating in the contest, the Ukrainian broadcaster National Television Company of Ukraine (NTU) also hosted the Eurovision Song Contest after winning the competition in 2004 with the song "Wild Dances" performed by Ruslana. NTU organised a national final in order to select the Ukrainian entry for the 2005 contest in Kyiv. Seventy-five entries competed in the national selection which consisted of sixteen shows: fifteen semi-finals and a final. Nineteen entries qualified to compete in the final, held on 27 February 2005, where "Razom nas bahato" performed by GreenJolly was selected as the winner after gaining the most public televotes with 2,247 votes. The Ukrainian entry caused controversy due to governmental involvement in directly qualifying GreenJolly to the final of the national selection as a wildcard based on their participation in the Orange Revolution, and alleged political overtones of the song "Razom nas bahato". The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) cleared the song for the competition after changing the lyrics.

Belarus debuted in the Eurovision Song Contest 2004 with the song "My Galileo" written by Aleksey Solomaha, Alexandra Kirsanova and Konstantin Drapezo. The song was performed by Aleksandra and Konstantin. The Belarusian entry for the 2004 contest in Istanbul, Turkey was selected through a national final organised by the Belarusian broadcaster National State Television and Radio Company of the Republic of Belarus (BTRC). The national final consisted of fifteen competing acts participating in a televised production where public voting selected the winner. "Moy galiley" performed by Aleksandra and Konstantin was selected as the winner with 2,311 votes. The song was later retitled as "My Galileo".

Russia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 in Belgrade, Serbia. The Russian entry was selected through a national final, Evrovidenie 2008 organised by the Russian broadcaster Rossiya Channel (RTR). Dima Bilan represented Russia with the song "Believe", which qualified from the first semi-final of the competition and won the contest, placing 1st in the final with 272 points.

Russia participated in and hosted the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 in Moscow after winning the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 with the song "Believe" performed by Dima Bilan. The Russian entry was selected through a national final, organised by the Russian broadcaster Channel One Russia (C1R). Anastasia Prikhodko represented Russia with the song "Mamo", which scored 91 points in the final and finished in 11th place.

Ukraine participated in Eurovision Song Contest 2010 with the song "Sweet People" written by Borys Kukoba, Vadim Lisitsa and Olena Kucher. The song was performed by Alyosha, which is the artistic name of singer Olena Kucher.

Ukraine participated in Eurovision Song Contest 2012 with the song "Be My Guest" written by Gaitana and Kiwi Project. The song was performed by Gaitana. The Ukrainian broadcaster National Television Company of Ukraine (NTU) organised a national final in order to select the Ukrainian entry for the 2012 contest in Baku, Azerbaijan. Twenty-one entries competed in the national selection held on 18 February 2012 and "Be My Guest" performed by Gaitana was selected as the winner following the combination of votes from a seven-member jury panel and a public televote.

Russia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 with the song "A Million Voices", written by Gabriel Alares, Joakim Björnberg, Katrina Noorbergen, Leonid Gutkin and Vladimir Matetsky. The song was performed by Polina Gagarina, who was selected by Russian broadcaster Channel One Russia (C1R) in March 2015 to represent the nation at the 2015 contest in Vienna, Austria. In the first of the Eurovision semi-finals "A Million Voices" placed first out of the 16 participating countries, securing its place among the 27 other songs in the final. In Russia's nineteenth Eurovision appearance on 23 May, "A Million Voices" finished in second place, receiving 303 points and full marks from five countries.

Ukraine participated in and won the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with the song "1944" written and performed by Jamala. Ukraine returned to the Eurovision Song Contest after the nation withdrew from the 2015 due to financial and political reasons related to the Russo-Ukrainian War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eurovision Song Contest 2017</span> International song competition

The Eurovision Song Contest 2017 was the 62nd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Kyiv, Ukraine, following the country's victory at the 2016 contest with the song "1944" by Jamala. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Public Broadcasting Company of Ukraine (UA:PBC), the contest was held at the International Exhibition Centre and consisted of two semi-finals on 9 and 11 May, and a final on 13 May 2017. The three live shows were presented by Ukrainian television presenters Oleksandr Skichko, Volodymyr Ostapchuk and Timur Miroshnychenko, being the first contest since the inaugural 1956 edition without a female host.

Ukraine participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 with the song "Time" written by Yevhen Halych and Yevhen Kamenchuk. The song was performed by the band O.Torvald. In addition to participating in the contest, the Ukrainian broadcaster National Television Company of Ukraine (NTU) also hosted the Eurovision Song Contest after winning the competition in 2016 with the song "1944" performed by Jamala. NTU organised a national final in collaboration with commercial broadcaster STB in order to select the Ukrainian entry for the 2017 contest in Kyiv. The national selection consisted of three semi-finals, held on 4, 11 and 18 February 2017, and a final, held on 25 February 2017; eight entries competed in each semi-final with the top two from each semi-final advancing to the final. In the final, "Time" performed by O.Torvald was selected as the winner following the combination of votes from a three-member jury panel and a public televote.

Romania participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 with the song "Yodel It!" written by Mihai Alexandru and Alexandra Niculae. The song was performed by Ilinca and Alex Florea. In October 2016, the Romanian broadcaster Televiziunea Română (TVR) announced that they would be returning to the Eurovision Song Contest after a one-year absence following their forced withdrawal in 2016 due to repeated non-payment of debts to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). TVR organised the national final Selecția Națională 2017 in order to select the Romanian entry for the 2017 contest in Kyiv, Ukraine. The national final consisted of two shows: a semi-final and a final. Fifteen entries were selected to compete in the semi-final on 26 February 2017 where a five-member jury panel selected ten entries to advance to the final. The ten qualifiers competed in the final on 5 March 2017 where "Yodel It!" performed by Ilinca and Alex Florea was selected as the winner entirely by a public vote.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yuliya Samoylova (singer)</span> Musical artist

Julia Olegovna Samoilova, sometimes credited as Yulia Samoilova or Julia Samoylova, is a Russian singer-songwriter. In early 2017, she was selected to represent Russia in the 2017 edition of the Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Flame Is Burning", but was subsequently banned from the contest's host country, Ukraine, due to violating Ukrainian law by entering Crimea through Russia in 2015, shortly after the region was annexed by Russia. In response to the ban, Russia ultimately withdrew from the contest. The following year, Samoylova was instead chosen to represent her country in the 2018 edition of the contest in Portugal. Performing "I Won't Break", she placed 15th out of 18 contestants in the second semi-final, failing to qualify for the grand final. "I Won't Break" was the first Russian entry not to reach the final since the introduction of semi-finals in 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Russia–Ukraine relations in the Eurovision Song Contest</span> Bilateral relations

Russia has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest, a pan-European music competition, since 1994, while Ukraine has participated since 2003. Russia and Ukraine have had positive relations, and have exchanged top-3 points with each other several times over the years. Barring a minor dispute over Ukraine's 2007 entry "Dancing Lasha Tumbai", notable conflicts began to emerge between the two countries at Eurovision in the wake of Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine.

Russia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 with the song "I Won't Break" written by Netta Nimrodi, Leonid Gutkin and Arie Burshtein. The song was performed by Julia Samoylova, who was internally selected by the Russian broadcaster Channel One Russia to represent the nation at the 2018 contest in Lisbon, Portugal.

The Eurovision Song Contest is an international song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) which features participants representing primarily European countries. One of the stated aims of the contest is that the event is of a non-political nature, and participating broadcasters and performers are precluded from promoting or referring to anything of a political, commercial or similar nature during the contest. However, several controversial moments have occurred since the event's creation in 1956, which have included political tensions between competing countries being reflected in the contest's performances and voting, disqualification of entries due to political references in song lyrics, and demonstrations against certain countries competing due to said country's politics and policies.

Evrovidenie. Nacionalny Otbor, Nacionalny Otbor na Evrovidenie or simply Evrovidenie is a Russian televised musical competition organized by Russian public broadcasters Channel One in odd years and Russia-1 (RTR) of VGTRK in even years. The competition is used to select Russia's representative in the Eurovision Song Contest. Since 2005, it has been streamed live online through the respective websites of the broadcasters. Throughout its history, the competition has been held using different names, including Evrovidenie "Pesnya-95" (1995), Pesnya dlya Evropy (1996), Evrovidenie – Vybirayet Rossiya (2005), Kto? (2014), but has been known for most of its history as Evrovidenie. Nacionalny Otbor.

Russia was scheduled to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Turin, Italy. However, due to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) excluded Russia from participating. Russia was originally set to perform in the second half of the first semi-final on 10 May 2022.

References

  1. ↑ "Russia Country Profile". EBU . Retrieved 12 February 2015.
  2. ↑ "Кто поедет на Евровидение 2017 от России?". euroinvision.com. 2 February 2017.
  3. 1 2 "Ukraine investigates Russia's newly chosen Eurovision candidate". DW. Retrieved 22 March 2017.
  4. ↑ "Кто поедет на Евровидение 2017 от России?". euroinvision.com. 2 February 2017.
  5. ↑ "ESCKAZ - ESC 2017 - Yulia Samoylova (Russia) / Юлия Самойлова (Россия)". esckaz.com.
  6. 1 2 "Ukraine bans Russia's Eurovision entrant over Crimea tour". The Guardian. 22 March 2017. Retrieved 22 March 2017.
  7. ↑ "Russia strikes provocative note for Eurovision in Ukraine". The Guardian. 13 March 2017. Retrieved 22 March 2017.
  8. ↑ "Eurovision 2017: Ukraine bars Russian singer Samoilova from contest". BBC News. 22 March 2017. Retrieved 22 March 2017.
  9. ↑ "EBU offers Russian singer opportunity to perform via satellite". Eurovision Song Contest. 23 March 2017. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
  10. ↑ Jordan, Paul (9 September 2016). "Kyiv to host Eurovision 2017!". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union . Retrieved 11 September 2016.
  11. ↑ Jordan, Paul (21 January 2016). "Semi-Final Allocation Draw on Monday, pots revealed". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union . Retrieved 25 January 2016.
  12. ↑ "Eurovision Eurovision 2017: Semi-finals running order revealed - ESCToday.com". 31 March 2017.
  13. ↑ Granger, Anthony (13 April 2017). "Russia withdraws from the Eurovision Song Contest". eurovoix.com. Eurovoix. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
  14. ↑ Первый канал не будет транслировать Евровидение-2017 [The first channel will not broadcast ESC 2017]. www.1tv.ru (in Russian). Russia-1. 13 April 2017. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
  15. ↑ "EBU: "Russia no longer able to take part in Eurovision 2017"". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. 13 April 2017. Retrieved 13 April 2017.

Commons-logo.svg Media related to Russia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 at Wikimedia Commons

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.