Andriy Danilko, who took part in Eurovision 2007 as Verka Serduchka, will once again form part of the professional jury at the Ukrainian national final for Eurovision in 2018.
Ukrainian broadcaster UA:PBC has revealed that Andriy Danilko will once again join Eurovision 2016 winner Jamala on the jury panel of Ukraine’s national selection “Vidbir 2018”. Andriy is most famous for his role as Verka Serduchka, who came 2nd at the Eurovision Song Contest back in 2007 with the song “Dancing Lasha Tumbai”. This is the third time that Andriy will be on the judging panel at Vidbir.
Ruslan Kvinta is a Ukrainian composer who has been newly appointed as the music producer for the 2018 selection. He will be responsible for choosing the entries who will appear on the live shows. Applications for interested performers are open now and can be submitted on STB’s website. The application window will close on 15th January 2018.
The final jury member will be revealed soon. The first semi-final of the selection is due to take place on 10 February 2018. The second semi will follow on 17 February with the grand final on 24 February. The show will once again be broadcast from the Palace of Culture, Kyiv and will be hosted for the second year by Serhiy Prytula. The winner of Vidbir 2018 will be decided by both the jury and the public televote, and will then go on to represent Ukraine at the Eurovision Song Contest in Lisbon, Portugal.
Source: UA:PBC
Ukraine first participated in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2003, when Oleksandr Ponomariov performed “Hasta la vista”. The following year Ruslana won the contest for Ukraine with the song “Wild Dances”. It was a feat that would be replicated again in 2016 by Jamala with her song “1944”, her emotionally charged song scored a record 534 points to take victory in Stockholm. In 2015 Ukraine did not compete in the contest due to financial difficulties.
