Great upheaval has emerged in Ukraine, following MARUV’s victory at their national selection event Vidbir 2019. Immediately after the final’s end, the Ukrainian national broadcaster UA:PBC suddenly announced that their representative at this year’s Eurovision will be officially determined after the signing of the relevant documents, putting MARUV’s Eurovision entry in question.

UA:PBC statements and requests

Τhe suspicions of a possible non-participation of MARUV in Tel Aviv in May were confirmed shortly after an official announcement by the broadcaster, which made public that the winner of the national selection will not be representing the country in the contest, due to a lack of agreement and no compromise between the two sides.

It was initially rumored that MARUV was asked to cancel all her upcoming concerts and performances in Russia, in order to take part at Eurovision as Ukraine’s entrant. This is now confirmed by the artists’ statements, which are mentioned below. However, this didn’t seem to be the main disagreement between the broadcaster and the artist.

Here is UA:PBC announcement:

Singer Anna Korsun (stage name – MARUV) won the national selection as a result of an legitimate competition and received the maximum score from the audience. Her performance was highly appreciated by music experts, showbiz and spectators.

However, the performer, who will represent Ukraine at an international contest, also has a commitment: after signing the contract about her Eurovision participation, he becomes a cultural ambassador of Ukraine and presents not only his own music, but also becomes the spokesman for the opinion of Ukrainian society in the world. After the negotiations, UA:PBC and the singer MARUV did not find a joint decision on the mission of the representative of Ukraine at the Eurovision Song Contest.

The broadcaster also cited the Eurovision regulations, which do not allow political content in any of the contest’s entries, leaving hints that a potential performance of MARUV would have political signs which may even pose dangers to the consensus of Ukrainian society.

MARUV’s reaction

Following the latest developments, the winner of Vidbir 2019 MARUV rushed to express her own views on the issue and to be placed publicly on her non-participation. In her words, she seems to blame the broadcaster for the failure to reach an agreement.

Today, our meeting with NTU lasted about seven hours, as a result of which, we did not reach an agreement between us.

A few hours before the draw, I was asked to participate in the national selection for Eurovision 2019. I agreed and won, and with great pride I was ready to represent my native country – Ukraine at the international competition.

As I said earlier, the cancellation of concerts in Russia was not a matter of principle for us. The main differences were caused by other clauses of the agreement, which, if I sign, become enslaving for me. I am a citizen of Ukraine, pay taxes and sincerely love Ukraine. But I am not ready to come up with slogans, turning its stay at the contest into promotions of our politicians. I am a musician, not a beat in the political arena.

I sincerely thank and appreciate everyone who believed in me and voted. And I ask you to accept this fact and not to go for confrontation. This is a reality today. I want to give my creativity without censorship.

Tomorrow I will wake up with new forces – to win and popularize my music in the world.

It is currently unknown if Freedom Jazz, the runner-up of Vidbir 2019 will finally be Ukraine’s entry to Eurovision 2019, or another act will be approached by the national broadcaster.

MARUV, with Siren song won Vidbir 2019 last Saturday, by winning the televote and coming 2nd with the expert jury. Here you may relive her performance: