Svante Stockselius, supervisor of the Eurovision Song Contest for the European Broadcasting Union, expressed his satisfaction with the course of preparations. He said that at a press conference devoted to the Sports Palace and the preparations for the upcoming contest. On 25th April, technicians started to build the stage and rigging lights. Working in three shifts around the clock, the preperations are scheduled to be finished at 11th May, the first rehearsal day.
Comparing the Eurovision Song Contest with Olympics, Stockselius pointed out the essential distinctions between them. The country has eight years for preparing the Olympics and just one year for the Eurovision Song Contest. “It�s a great challenge for the host country”, he said.
“It will be the most brilliant Eurovision Song Contest ever”, was Stockselius' statement. He also stressed that it�s the first time the Eurovision Song Contest has got two international sponsors at once, Kyivstar and Nemiroff. However, Stockselius expressed the EBU's anxieties about the attempts of some politicians to use the Eurovision Song Contest for their own benefits. He pointed out that the contest should be out of any politics; “It�s not a political event. Just like at the Olympics, our aim is to hold a peaceful contest�.
