As informed by Oleksandr Savenko, the President of the National Television Company of Ukraine (NTU), Svante Stockselius, the coordinator of the Eurovision Song Contest at the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) together with seven representatives of EBU Administrative Council are planning to visit Kiev from July 6th through July 11th to decide the fate of the 50th anniversary of the contest.

Addressing the regular meeting of the Kiev City Administration attended by the Kiev Mayor Oleksandr Omelchenko, who is the Vice-President of the Eurovision-2005 Organization Committee, the Deputy Mayor Volodymyr Yaloviy and the Director of the International Exhibition Centre Anatoly Tkachenko, Oleksandr Savenko summed up the results of his meeting with the EBU management, which took place in Geneva, Switzerland last week. During its visit, the European delegation will examine the venues suggested by the Committee. As Oleksandr Savenko remarked, the EBU representatives were pleasantly surprised that Ukraine had started the preparation to the contest in advance. �We have already presented the government guarantees to the EBU, which confirm that Ukraine is ready to spend at minimum 5 million Swiss francs to host the Eurovision Song Contest next year.� The minimal budget, according to the President of the NTU, will amount to 9,5 million Swiss francs, 4,5 million provided by the EBU and 5 million guaranteed by the host state. This sum concerns the organization and the broadcasting only. �As regards the construction of the hall, hotels, infrastructure � these expenditures will be incurred by the host state and are not covered by the budget of the contest”, specifies Mr. Savenko.

Besides the financial aspect, other minimal requirements of the EBU include the availability of a venue to host at least two thousand people and of an equipped press-centre intended to host 600 persons, as well as the ability to lodge the representatives of official delegations. Other requirements concern technical issues. It is planned that by August 1st the NTU and the EBU will have signed the agreement on the hosting of the jubilee contest in Ukraine. Later in his interview to journalists, Oleksandr Savenko also informed that beside the European specialists the preparation activities involve many national ones, two thousand people in total. Mr. Savenko himself was appointed the Executive Producer in Ukraine. �I am sure that the next jubilee Eurovision Song Contest will be hosted by Ukraine at the top level�, was his conclusion.