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ESC’17: Appeal To Prime Minister Over Kyiv’s Proposed Eurovision Venue

Denmark on stage at Eurovision 2005
The Palace of Sports hosted Eurovision in 2005

The President of the Ice Hockey Federation of Ukraine has appealed to the Prime Minister of Ukraine over the proposed use of the Palace of Sports for Eurovision 2017.

Kyiv is one of six cities currently bidding to host the Eurovision Song Contest. It is understood that the city’s bid is based on the use of the Palace of Sports as the venue for the contest, while the Olympic stadium is used as a fan zone. The proposal to use the Palace of Sports has brought the bid into conflict with the Ukrainian Ice Hockey Federation, as the venue is due to be hosting the World Ice Hockey Championships, Division 1 Group A from April 22-28.

With the dates that NTU has proposed for the contest with the final on 9 May 2017, the Palace of Sports would have to be handed over to organisers six weeks before the final preparations to begin. If the Kyiv bid wins the bidding process for host city, the organisation of the World Ice Hockey Championships would be impossible in Ukraine.

In the letter to the Ukrainian Prime Minsiter Volodymyr Groysman, the Head of the FHU states:

The World Cup – is not only creating a bright sporting spectacle, but also a significant step in the growth of the global image of the country. Especially given the fact that Ukraine is planning for the arrival of several thousand fans from countries participating in the Championship – Kazakhstan, Hungary, Poland, South Korea and Austria.

Adding that:

Today the Sports Palace is the only sports facility in the country that meets the requirements of the World Cup this level.

The Kyiv City Administration have asked for the FHU to appeal to the sport’s governing body to have the championships delayed by one to two months. The rules governing the sport state that the championships can be removed from the host country if the agreed dates for the championships are not keptย too.

Source: FHU

2 thoughts on “ESC’17: Appeal To Prime Minister Over Kyiv’s Proposed Eurovision Venue”

  1. But the palace of sports is old, small and not properly fitted to host Eurovision.

    I mean look how small the ceiling is.

    Ukraine’s only viable option is to host the contest in Lviv at arena Lviv by building a roof.

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