The City of Kyiv is all set to welcome Eurovision fans, journalists, delegations and artists when Eurovision hits the Ukrainian capital next May. The Deputy Mayor of Kyiv shed more light on the host city’s preparations for the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest, during a special press conference held at the national Ukrainian broadcaster’s headquarters in Kyiv.

During a special briefing with foreign media representatives held at the State Committee for Television and Radio Broadcasting on February 16, the Deputy Head of the Kyiv City State Administration, Mr. Oleksii Reznikov, spoke about Kyiv’s preparations for welcoming ESC fans from Europe and beyond.

Mr. Oleksii Resnikov (Deputy Mayor of Kyiv) says:

Kyiv was, is and will be ready to host the Eurovision Song Contest. Every opinion is material. Therefore, the position of the City Mayor, Vitaliy Klychko, materialized in the universe long ago: the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest will be held on the highest level.

He also shed more light on the measures being taken for the ESC organization. UAH 200 million have already been allocated from the local budget. The improvement of the city’s infrastructure has been allocated the required funding. Landscaping works will start in spring in order to welcome guests to Kyiv. The City of Kyiv has purchased additional 12 trams and over a hundred buses to improve the transportation situation. Furthermore, teams of volunteers are being formed and signboards developed to make navigation through the city easier.

Emergency aid has also been taken into consideration. Thus, 47 ambulances have been equipped with GPS navigation. Four thousand video surveillance cameras will be additionally installed along with a state-of-the-art data centre for security purposes.

The Deputy Mayor adds:

I want to invite citizens of London and Tel Aviv who are proud of their data centres to Kyiv to look at ours.

The city has also agreed with hoteliers not to raise fees for accommodation at hotels in Kyiv during the Eurovision Song Contest. The total hotel capacity of the City is accommodation for 21,500 people. 20,000 guests are expected to arrive in the capital of Ukraine for the Eurovision Song Contest.

Thus the city is gearing up to warmly welcome Eurovision fans from all over the world to Kyiv!

The 2017 Eurovision Song Contest is scheduled to be held on 9, 11 and 13 May at the IEC in Kyiv, Ukraine.