UK To Host 2023 Eurovision After Ukraine Ruled Too Risky

Next year’s Eurovision Song Contest will be staged in Britain, organizers announced Monday, after concluding it is too risky to hold the much-loved pop extravaganza in the designated host country, Ukraine.

The U.K. said the 2023 event would be a celebration of Ukrainian culture and creativity.

Ukraine won the right to host the glitzy pan-continental music competition when its entry, from the folk-rap ensemble Kalush Orchestra, won this year’s contest in May. Britain’s Sam Ryder was second.

The European Broadcasting Union, which runs Eurovision, said it had concluded that “regrettably, next year’s event could not be held in Ukraine for safety and security reasons.” It said Britain’s BBC had agreed to broadcast the show on behalf of Ukrainian broadcaster UA:PBC.

“The 2023 Eurovision Song Contest will not be in Ukraine but in support of Ukraine,” said Mykola Chernotytskyi, head of the managing board of UA:PBC. “We are grateful to our BBC partners for showing solidarity with us.”

The fate of the 2023 contest had featured in talks between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Johnson said the two had agreed that “wherever Eurovision 2023 is held, it must celebrate the country and people of Ukraine.”

“As we are now hosts, the U.K. will honor that pledge directly — and put on a fantastic contest on behalf of our Ukrainian friends,” Johnson said.

Ukraine has won the contest three times and hosted Eurovision in 2005 and 2017. The competition has been held in Britain eight times, most recently in 1998, the year after the U.K. last won.

The BBC said bidding to be the host city for the 2023 contest will open next week. London, Manchester and Sheffield all said Monday that they would apply.

Founded in 1956 to help unite a continent scarred by World War II, Eurovision has grown to include more than 40 countries, including non-European nations such as Israel and Australia.

Organizers strive to keep pop and politics apart — banning overtly political symbols and lyrics — but global tensions have often imposed themselves on the contest. Russia was kicked out of this year’s competition because of its invasion of Ukraine in February.

By JILL LAWLESS

Travelore News: Cashless And flightless, Russian Tourists Stuck In Thailand

Thousands of Russian tourists are stranded in Thailand’s beach resorts because of the war in Ukraine, many unable to pay their bills or return home because of sanctions and canceled flights.

The crisis in Europe also put a crimp in recovery plans for the Southeast Asian nation’s tourism industry, which has hosted more visitors from Russia than any of its neighbors before the pandemic hit.

There are about 6,500 Russian tourists stuck in Phuket, Surat Thani, Krabi and Pattaya, four provinces that are popular seaside resort destinations, in addition to 1,000 Ukrainians, Yuthasak Supasorn, governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, told The Associated Press on Friday.

Some 17,599 Russians accounted for the largest bloc of arrivals in February, representing 8.6% of a total of 203,970, according to the Public Health Ministry. After the Feb. 24 Russian invasion of Ukraine, their numbers drastically declined.

Yuthasak said the Russians face two main problems: cancellations of their flights home by airlines that have stopped flying to Russia, and suspension of financial services, particularly by credit card companies that have joined sanctions against Moscow. There are also some who prefer to delay their return.

“There are some airlines that still fly to Russia, but travelers have to transit in another country. We are trying to coordinate and search the flights for them,” Yuthasak said.

While almost all direct flights from Russia have been suspended, connections are still available through major carriers based in the Middle East.

He said efforts are also being made to find alternative methods of payments for Russian tourists.

Siwaporn Boonruang, a volunteer translator for Russians stranded in Krabi, said some cannot pay their bills because they can no longer use Visa or Mastercard credit cards.

Many have cash and those with UnionPay credit cards, which are issued by a Chinese financial services company, can still use them, but payment by cryptocurrency is not allowed, she said.

Many hotels have helped by offering discounted rates, she added.

Thailand’s government has offered 30-day visa extensions without payment, and is trying to find low-cost alternative accommodation for people forced to stay for an extended period.

The problems associated with the war in Ukraine have compounded Thailand’s hopes for economic recovery. Officials hope to see the threat from the COVID-19 pandemic ebbing by July, even though daily cases are currently at record highs, driven by the omicron variant of the coronavirus.

Thai authorities later this year expect to drop most quarantine and testing regulations that have been in place to fight the spread of the virus, which would make entry easier for foreign travelers.

Thailand may have to lower its targets for tourist arrivals and revenues this year because of the knock-on effects of rising oil prices and inflation on global travel, Yuthasak was quoted saying by the Bangkok Post newspaper.

“Tourism is still a key engine to revive our economy, even though revenue was stymied by negative factors,” he said.

According to the report, Thailand had projected gaining a total of 1.28 trillion baht ($38.4 billion) in revenue this year from foreign and domestic tourists.