Kiev 2017: Executive Producers NTU resign from their position

According to the usually well informed fan media outlet ESCKAZ, the Executive Producers Victoria Romanova and Oleksander Kharebin have resigned from their positions. The team of the host broadcaster behind the Eurovision 2017 organisation will now have to be changed completely. UPDATE: The EBU confirmed this news.

It is still unknown if this will result in another delay. The European Broadcasting Union has confirmed the news with a statement on their website. Further information regarding the core team of the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest will be released in due course.

So far, the EBU and NTU, now UA:PBC, have had some severe struggles when it comes to getting Kiev ready in time for the contest. The ticket sales for the contest are also facing some major upsets, with the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine cancelling the tender for the ticket agency already. The first ticket will now go on sale on February 14th.

ESCKAZ based themselves on information on the website Strana. They say the reason is the institutional collapse and the failure of all the terms in the organization for the contest. “One of the reasons is the failure of tender procedures. In fact, the schedule of tenders and identification of contractors have been practically derailed. It includes worked planned on the main venue, Euroclub, PR, TV production, hotel service, catering etc. In general – there is nothing there yet, even the ticket agent was not chosen, the tender has been cancelled”, told a source to “Strana”.

Dates remain the same

As of now, the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest will still be held on the 9th, 11th and 13th May. The EBU has informed ESC Daily that it is not possible to reschedule the dates of the contest, despite the fact that more time would help the Ukrainians. The EBU writes: “We have reiterated to UA:PBC the importance of a speedy and efficient implementation of plans already agreed, despite staff changes, and that we stick to the timeline and milestones that have been established and approved by the Reference Group to ensure a successful Contest in May.”