President’s Office says Zelensky did not contact ESC organizers to deliver speech during contest

The Office of the President of Ukraine has not contacted the organizers of the Eurovision Song Contest in order for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to deliver an online speech during finals or at any other stage of the 2023 contest.

The relevant statement was made by Press Secretary of the President of Ukraine Sergii Nykyforov on Facebook, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

“The Times’ information is incorrect. The Office of the President of Ukraine has not contacted the organizers of the Eurovision Song Contest with a proposal to arrange an online address by Volodymyr Zelensky during finals or at any other stage of the contest,” Nykyforov wrote.

A reminder that The Times earlier reported that President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky had been barred from publicly addressing the Eurovision audience due to the position of the event’s organizer, the European Broadcasting Union, which claimed the speech could lead to the politicization of the song contest.