The handover of the Host City Key between Stockholm, Sweden and Kyiv, Ukraine will occur on January 31 according to a Kyiv City official.
Mr Oles Malyarevich an official at Kyiv City Hall has confirmed to Hromadske Radio that the handover ceremony will occur on January 31. The handing over the Host City Insignia began in 2007 with Helsinki, Finland. The insignia of each host city is placed onto a key which is given to each host city ahead of the Eurovision Song Contest. Previous insignia including a perspex butterfly (Malmo 2013), a wooden pole with fire engraved into it (Baku 2012) and a metal engraving of the Little Mermaid (Copenhagen 2014).
The handover ceremony is traditionally followed on the same day by the allocation draw for the semi finals. At the semi final allocation draw the countries competing in the semi finals are drawn into a number of pots. These pots are based on voting behavior in previous contests. These pots are meant to limit voting blocs within semi finals which may disadvantage a country. The draw also decides in which semi finals the members of the Big Five and the Host Nation will be voting in.
The past two weeks have seen significant announcements and developments regarding the hosting and organisation of the Eurovision Song Contest 2017. This week has seen a call for volunteers for the contest, in the first day over 1,500 people registering online and in person for the roles. Last week also saw the auditions for the presenters of next years contest.
A total of 43 countries are to compete in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 in Kyiv, Ukraine. Returning to the Eurovision stage are Portugal and Romania who both took a year out from the contest. Bosnia & Herzegovina has however withdrawn from the contest due to financial difficulties at the national broadcaster, BHRT. The 62nd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest is being held on the following dates:
- Semi Final 1 – 9 May
- Semi Final 2 – 11 May
- Final – 13 May
Source: Hromadske Radio
