The Ukrainian broadcaster resonsible for the country’s Eurovision participation have announced the start of their national selection process for Eurovision 2022.
Next year will mark the first time that UA:PBC will be holding a national final for Eurovision since 2015. The Managing Board member for UA:PBC, Yaroslav Lodygin, couldn’t be more happy at the return of the national final, as he explains:
“It is a thrilling moment for the whole UA: PBC because, for the first time since 2015, we are holding the National Selection for Eurovision on our own and will broadcast it exclusively. It is a new stage for the whole broadcaster and we hope that in co-operation with an experienced production company we will do this on a high level. I am inviting all interested artists to participate in the selection, and guarantee transparency and objectivity. I would like the National Selection to remain a music celebration for the whole country, and our team will make every effort for this."
Ukraine in Eurovision 2022: a two-pronged approach
Ukraine’s national selection process for Eurovision 2022 will be divided into two stages – the preliminary round and the grand final. The preliminary round began on December 14th, and will run until January 24th. All interested persons must complete this form by January 10th.
All submitted songs must be original, cannot have been performed or released prior to September 1st, 2021 and must not exceed three minutes in length.
Once all the submissions have been received, UA:PBC will shortlist all the acts and decide who will advance to the live grand final. The list of finalists is expected to be published on the broadcasters website no later than January 24th.
The second stage of their selection process will be the grand final, which is expected to be broadcast live on UA:PBC channels in February 2022. The winner of the final, and Ukraine’s Eurovision 2022 participant, will be decided by a mix of jury vote and audience vote.
At the present time, it is unknown who will sit on the jury panel, but it is expected to be made up of established music industry experts, as chosen by UA:PBC.
Ukraine are one of the more successful countries in Eurovision, having won the contest twice, and achieving a string of top ten placings. They are also the only remaining country to have qualified from every semi final they have participated in, thus, never missing out on a grand final.
Go_A were Ukraine’s Eurovision representatives in 2020 and 2021. In Rotterdam this May, the band achieved another top 5 placing for Ukraine, and finished in second place with the televote, just missing out on the top spot.
Are you excited for Ukraine’s national final for Eurovision 2022? Which Ukrainian artists would you like to see participating? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
