Vidbir winner Alina Pash has confirmed that she will not be representing Ukraine at Eurovision 2022.
The winner of Vidbir 2022, Alina Pash, has confirmed on her official Instagram account that she would be withdrawing from Eurovision 2022, and would not be taking her Eurovision journey any further this year.
“I am citizen of Ukraine, I follow the laws of Ukraine, I try to bring the traditions and values of Ukraine to the world. What this story turned out to be is not at all what I put into my song.
I am an artist, not a politician. I do not have an army of PR people, managers, lawyers to resist all this attack and pressure, the break-in of my social media networks; threats. And also absoloutley unacceptable wording that allow themselves without understanding the situtation and forgetting about the dignity of every citizen of Ukraine.
I don’t want this virtual war and hatred. The main war is an external one, which came to my country in 2014.”
Ukraine and Eurovision 2022: will it work out?
Since winning Vidbir on Saturday 12th February, Alina Pash has come under fire from Ukrainian authorities and the broadcaster over her travels to Crimea. Ukrainian citizens are permitted to enter Crimea only via border points that are in Ukraine, and not via any other route.
Documents have surfaced to show that Alina Pash visited Crimea in August 2015, entering via Ukraine. However, following the publication of these documents, State Border Guard Service said that they had not issued this certificate, which raised suspicisions over the legitimacy of the paperwork.
On February 15th, Mykola Chernotytskyi, Chairman of the NSTU Board, confirmed that an organising committee would meet on the 16th to determine their response regarding Alina Pash’s visit to Crimea and her subsequent Eurovision 2022 participation.
However, due to Alina’s self withdrawal from Eurovision 2022, the organising committee would no longer need to meet to discuss her participation. But despite this, there are still two things that are uncertain at this point, that will need to be discussed – will Ukraine withdraw from Eurovision 2022, and if not, who will represent them?
History repeating itself
This is not the first time that the winner of Vidbir has come under fire for political reasons. In 2019, Maruv convincingly won Vidbir with “Siren Song”, but despite her win, her Eurovision 2019 participation was not confirmed right away.
After her win, the Ukrainian broadcaster UA:PBC imposed a contract on Maruv, one which she was not happy with. As a result of this, Maruv and the broadcaster were unable to reach a decision, leading to the withdrawal of Maruv as Ukraine’s Eurovision 2019 representative. Ukraine withdrew from Eurovision 2019 all together soon after.
Without a confirmed act, Ukraine’s Eurovision 2022 participation looks uncertain. What are your thoughts on Alina’s withdrawal from Eurovision 2022? Let us know in the comments below!