How Jamal was not allowed on the Eurovision red carpet. And other national features of organizing the competition

The winner of the international vocal competition Eurovision 2016 Jamal was banned from entering the Eurovision red carpet. The singer’s PR director Denis Kozlovsky announced this on his Facebook page. “Jamala was forbidden to go to the red carpet. It’s strange, isn’t it, that the winner of the previous year, who brought Eurovision to Ukraine, is forbidden to appear there. As a result, only the lazy ones didn’t take a photo there. By the way, in Stockholm, Mans Zelmerlev met all the delegations on the red carpet “These are the rules of our competition,” explained the director of the red carpet in Ukraine. We respect the rules very much, so we obeyed and did not go,” he wrote. Kozlovsky reports that the singer was even offered to fly to the opening ceremony by helicopter without a flight permit.

“On the night before the opening, there was a call from one agency, which, apparently, is using the Eurovision budget, and we were offered to fly to the opening ceremony by helicopter. To the question “Why should we fly by helicopter?” the answer was that it was necessary for the image of Ukraine. Little Despite the fact that it is unclear how this flight could decorate the image of the country, it turned out that no permits for flights over Kiev were issued, and none of the responsible services were aware of it. That is, we were offered to fly over the capital, which was closed for flights, and land unauthorized on the roof. building where a security event is taking place, at which the wife of the President of Ukraine is speaking,” he noted.
Jamal's team arrived at the ceremony by car, but law enforcement agencies did not have permission to let the singer onto the red carpet.
“Of course, we went to the ceremony by car. We were not allowed in for 20 minutes - cordons of police, National Guard, and Parole guarded the entrance from Jamala, looked at us, apologized, but could not let us in. There was no route plan, no regulations, no protocol, simple instructions... nothing. You can imagine what would happen with a helicopter,” Kozlovsky emphasized.
When Jamala and her team finally managed to get into the Parkovy Convention and Exhibition Center, where the opening ceremony of the Eurovision Song Contest was taking place, the badges of the producer and singer did not work at the entrance turnstiles.
“Badges are a completely different story. The entire team of the Eurovision 2016 winner was given minimal access. The PR director, for example, does not have access to the press center. Only with a special escort,” wrote the singer’s PR director.
As NewsOne reported earlier, on May 7, at the Parkovy Convention and Exhibition Center, a

The production director at Eurovision 2017 in Kyiv, Sergei Prosurnya, explained to DW that Jamala’s passage along the red carpet before the opening ceremony of the competition was not included in the script. “This format of participation was not discussed with members of her team,” Proskurnya said on Tuesday, May 9, in Kyiv. The talk, according to him, was only about the performance of the winner of last year's Eurovision at the opening ceremony, which is what happened.

Context

Previously, representatives of Jamala were indignant at social networks because the singer was not allowed on the red carpet, which she walked on on the opening day music competition on Sunday, May 7, its participants took place in the Mariinsky Park in Kyiv. The organization of the opening ceremony itself at the Euroclub also caused dissatisfaction among Jamala's representatives. To this Sergei Proskurnya objected: “If the guests and participants went out onto the terrace with a glass of champagne, I won’t call the firefighters to drag them into the hall.”

The first pancake of Eurovision 2017 is lumpy?

As a rule, the opening ceremony of Eurovision takes place in the town hall or city hall of the host city. Only after this the participants of the competition come to the Euroclub - a meeting place for journalists and accredited Eurovision fans. This time the organizers decided to do something different and laid out the longest carpet in the history of the competition. As a result, the passage of participants along it lasted more than two hours and the opening ceremony was delayed.

There is also active discussion on the Internet that the first semi-final of Eurovision 2017 on Tuesday evening, May 9, will be opened not by Jamala, the winner of last year’s competition, but Ukrainian performer Dmitry Monatik ( stage name Monatik). But this is far from the first precedent at the competition. So, in 2009 in Moscow, Dima Bilan, who “brought” Eurovision to Russia, appeared on stage only in the final, as did Lena in Dusseldorf in 2011. A year earlier, this singer from Germany won a competition in Oslo. And Jamala will perform twice in the first semi-final of Eurovision 2017 in Kyiv - during the voting of television viewers and during the counting of votes. First, she will perform a new interpretation of “1944,” with which she won in Stockholm, and then the ethnic composition “Lured.”

See also:

  • Jacques Hudek (Croatia)

    Ukraine is going through a difficult time right now. Something similar happened in my homeland 25 years ago, when I was 10 years old. Memories of the war are very difficult. Ukraine has done an excellent job organizing Eurovision in such a difficult time. I congratulate her. Now Kyiv for me - best place in the world, because a big holiday awaits us.

  • Borscht and a little politics: Eurovision 2017 participants about Kyiv

    Dihaj (Azerbaijan)

    I got very involved. The weather in Kyiv is great, very green. I am an artist, a musician, and I try not to delve into political strife. If I wanted to be a politician, it would be a different matter.

    Borscht and a little politics: Eurovision 2017 participants about Kyiv

    Slavko Kalezic (Montenegro)

    Kyiv - beautiful city, lots of greenery, parks. This is very important to me. Despite the fact that I am a vegetarian, I still tried borscht. It's still national dish.

    Borscht and a little politics: Eurovision 2017 participants about Kyiv

    Tamara Gachechiladze (Georgia)

    I feel at home. My father lived in Kyiv for almost 10 years. The people are very warm and good. It is wrong that Yulia Samoilova was not allowed to participate in Eurovision. Politics and music are two different things. But Ukraine has its own laws, they must be respected.

    Borscht and a little politics: Eurovision 2017 participants about Kyiv

    Nathan Trent (Austria)

    Cool city, cool people, well, borscht is something I advise everyone to try.

    Borscht and a little politics: Eurovision 2017 participants about Kyiv

    Levina (Germany)

    Kyiv is truly a wonderful city. I really liked its architecture, the houses in pastel colors, delicious food.

    Borscht and a little politics: Eurovision 2017 participants about Kyiv

    Naviband (Belarus)

    Our favorite place in Kyiv - botanical garden. The people of Kiev support us very much, they recognize us on the street and wish us good luck.

    Borscht and a little politics: Eurovision 2017 participants about Kyiv

    Brendan Murray (Ireland)

    I didn’t think that I would ever find myself in Kyiv. But it's a great city. And borscht is something amazing.

    Borscht and a little politics: Eurovision 2017 participants about Kyiv

    Christian Kostov (Bulgaria)

    I won’t lie, I’m upset that Yulia Samoilova couldn’t come to Kyiv. But nothing depends on me. I'll see her in Moscow.

    Borscht and a little politics: Eurovision 2017 participants about Kyiv

    O. Torvald (Ukraine)

    Chestnut trees are now blooming in Kyiv. And the city itself blossomed for the whole world. But politics doesn’t concern us, we are musicians.

Jamal was banned from going to the red carpet. It’s strange, isn’t it, that the winner of the previous year, who brought Eurovision to Ukraine, is prohibited from appearing there. In the end, only the lazy ones didn’t take a photo there. By the way, in Stockholm Mans Zelmerlev met all delegations on the red carpet. “These are the rules of our competition,” explained the director of the red carpet in Ukraine. We respect the rules very much, so we obeyed and didn’t go.

The night before the opening, we received a call from one agency, which, apparently, is using the Eurovision budget, and we were offered to fly to the opening ceremony by helicopter. To the question “Why should we fly by helicopter?” came the answer that this was necessary for the image of Ukraine. Not only is it unclear how this flight could brighten the country’s image, it turned out that no permits for flights over Kiev were issued, and none of the responsible services were in the know. That is, we were offered to fly over the capital, which is closed to flights, and land unauthorized on the roof of a building where a security event is taking place, at which the wife of the President of Ukraine is speaking.

Of course, we went to the ceremony by car. They didn’t let us in for 20 minutes - cordons of police, national guard, and parole guarded the entrance from Jamala, looked at us, apologized, but couldn’t let us through. There was no route plan, no regulations, no protocol, simple instructions... nothing. Can you imagine what it would be like with a helicopter?

When we finally got inside the Parkovy Exhibition and Convention Center, neither the producer’s badge nor Jamala’s badge at the entrance turnstiles worked. Badges are a completely different story. The entire team of the winner of Eurovision 2016 was given a minimum clearance. The PR director, for example, does not have access to the press center. Only with a special escort.

At the opening ceremony there was neither a press wall, nor an area for photographers and journalists, nor, in fact, the majority of delegations. It looked like there were two parallel parties taking place at Parkovoy. On one, people are drinking and chatting, animators from the circus school are walking between them, and on the other, in a completely empty dark hall, there is an orchestra folk instruments NAONI plays Eurovision hits on banduras and cymbals.

They decided to start the ceremony half an hour late. No one has thought through how to communicate this to people in lines for food and drinks. There were no plasmas or speakers to indicate that the ceremony had begun. The orchestra was driven off the stage, the musicians lined up on the sides, the presenters squeezed between the music stands and chairs and quietly announced that we were beginning. They were hard to hear even in the hall where the protocol part was taking place, and on the veranda of the Parkovy Exhibition and Convention Center, where the bulk of the public was located, about what was happening in parallel grand opening no one guessed.

The President's wife, the mayor of Kyiv, the main boss of Eurovision and the winner of ESC 2016 took turns replacing each other on stage, each making his own path between the props of the orchestra that filled the stage. Each gave a welcoming speech in English to delegations from 43 countries. There were about 30 - 40 people in the hall at that moment. Mainly, employees of the mayor's office, state security, as well as Deputy Prime Minister Vyacheslav Kirilenko and the head of the First National Pavel Gritsak.

By the time we were already leaving the Parkovy Convention and Exhibition Center, most of the delegations had not yet had time to gather for the completed official ceremony. We ran into a photographer we knew at the door. “Where have you all been?” we asked. “We were waiting for the shuttle from the red carpet,” he answered and went inside to listen to the performance of Oleg Skripka and Ruslana, accompanied by an orchestra of folk instruments.

More interesting facts after the end of Eurovision in a separate detailed material".

08.05.2017, 16:45

Did you order the scandal?

PR director of singer Jamala Denis Kozlovsky harshly criticized the organization of the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 in Kyiv.

As Kozlovsky wrote on his Facebook page, during the opening of Eurovision 2017, an unforeseen incident arose - Jamala was not allowed to go on the red carpet and meet the guests of the opening ceremony.

“Jamala was forbidden to go to the red carpet. It’s strange, isn’t it, that the winner of the previous year, who brought Eurovision to Ukraine, is forbidden to appear there. As a result, only the lazy ones didn’t take a photo there. By the way, in Stockholm, Mans Zelmerlev met all the delegations on the red carpet “These are the rules of our competition,” explained the director of the red carpet in Ukraine. We respect the rules very much, so we obeyed and did not go,” Kozlovsky wrote.

Jamala’s representative also pointed out a number of other offensive mistakes of the organizers:

“They didn’t let us in for 20 minutes - cordons of police, national guard, parole guarded the entrance from Jamala, looked at us, apologized, but couldn’t let us in. There was no route plan, no regulations, no protocol, simple instructions... nothing. When we finally got inside the Parkovy Exhibition and Convention Center, neither the producer’s badge nor Jamala’s badge at the entrance turnstiles worked. The badges are a completely different story. The entire team of the Eurovision 2016 winner was given a minimum access by the PR director, for example, does not have access to the press. center. Only with a special accompanying person.

At the opening ceremony there was neither a press wall, nor an area for photographers and journalists, nor, in fact, the majority of delegations. It looked like there were two parallel parties taking place at Parkovoy. On one, people drink and chat, animators from the circus school walk between them, and on the other, in a completely empty dark hall, the NAONI folk instrument orchestra plays Eurovision hits on banduras and cymbals.

They decided to start the ceremony half an hour late. No one has thought through how to communicate this to people in lines for food and drinks. There were no plasmas or speakers to indicate that the ceremony had begun. The orchestra was driven off the stage, the musicians lined up on the sides, the presenters squeezed between the music stands and chairs and quietly announced that we were beginning. They were hard to hear even in the hall where the protocol part was taking place, and on the veranda of the Parkovy Exhibition and Convention Center, where the bulk of the public was, no one knew about the grand opening taking place at the same time.

The President's wife, the mayor of Kyiv, the main boss of Eurovision and the winner of ESC 2017 took turns replacing each other on stage, each making his own path between the props of the orchestra that filled the stage. Each gave a welcoming speech in English to delegations from 43 countries. There were about 30 - 40 people in the hall at that moment. Mostly employees of the mayor’s office, state security, as well as Deputy Prime Minister Vyacheslav Kirilenko and the head of the First National Pavel Gritsak.”

Let us remind you that on Sunday, May 7, the opening ceremony of the international Eurovision song contest took place in Kyiv.

12:23 09.05.2017

The first semi-final of Eurovision 2017 will take place today in Kyiv. And although the competitive battles have not yet begun, on the second day on social networks they are actively discussing #zrada - this is how many viewers and some media professionals called the opening ceremony of the Eurofest. I can’t tell you what happened behind the scenes of the event (as you know, I didn’t have enough accreditation for Eurovision), so I suggest you read the story of Jamala’s producer Igor Tarnopolsky, who knows first-hand about the organization of the ceremony:

Naturally, all hell broke loose in the comments to the post, but I highlighted something interesting and useful for understanding the situation for you:

On the one hand, commentators drew attention to the fact that Ruslana was not present at the opening of the competition

On the other hand, they reminded that the competition will not be opened by Jamala

Here, however, there is no #harm: let me remind you that Jamala will perform on the Eurovision stage today - after all the numbers of the contestants in the first semi-final. And he will perform not one, but three compositions at once - including his own "1944" in symphonic version.

But let's get back to the comments:

The organization of the ceremony was discussed from all sides - from the light,

to badges,

leading,

and working conditions for journalists

When the number of questions and accusations against the organizers began to go off scale, a representative of the latter came into the comments, admitting her shortcomings, and later edited the post:

It was - it became

And more about timing:

Alexander Kharebin, who was organizing the competition and made a demarche together with the event managers when everything went wrong, recalled how much the opening ceremony cost the state:

Naturally, people have already started talking about the investigation:

Since I didn’t attend the ceremony, I can’t tell you what really happened there. Let me just say that anyone who carefully watched the broadcast probably noticed some timing-related nuances:

I’ll reassure those who haven’t watched and don’t intend to watch: Jamala was in Parkovy, surprised with a dress from Yulia Magdych, talked with the guests and said that now Europeans will be able to get to know our culture better.

The main thing is that Europeans do not go to the Ukrainian segment of Facebook when they are discussing #health

And why the singer, whose victory brought Eurovision to Ukraine, did not walk the red carpet of the ceremony, said the creative director of the competition Sergei Proskurnya. According to him, the red carpet regulations were approved by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), as the organizer of the competition. According to EBU canons, only delegations of participating countries and presenters should appear on the track.

“Question: why wasn’t Celine Dion or Toto Cutugno on this track? Could they also claim this as stars of yesteryear? Why wasn’t Sasha Rybak there, why wasn’t Conchita there? These questions are rhetorical. Why did Jamala have to be there? I know who promised Jamala’s producer a helicopter, but this person has nothing to do with the management and creative team of Eurovision. I announced that we had a closed sky, and in connection with this, according to the script, all the scenes with hot air balloons were cut. Then we came up with these balls that carried flags. And we already have ten feedbacks on where they landed,” Sergei explained to TSN journalists. - In fact: delegations and their sequence are approved by the EBU. Our proposal was based on the Eurovision tradition - only contestants and presenters walk along the track. I suggested going according to the alphabet. We followed this even in those moments when we could not pull the representative of Albania away from the correspondents, and she delayed the process for half an hour. All the delegations waited politely while she cut the ribbon and the Albanian flag flew. This was an absolute principle.

An hour before the start of the red carpet, I received an official message from the EBU that Christer Bjorkman (producer of the Eurovision 2017 competition) will also walk along the track. MN ) and Ola Melzig (show production director, - MN ) as people responsible for the competition and the technical part.”

As if not understanding what the essence of the question was, the director added that he checked with EBU representatives whether supervisor Jon Ola Sand would walk along the path, and whether it was possible for Pavel Gritsak and Anna Bychok to walk along it in the same way. And he recalled that Igor Tarnopolsky knew who approved the script for the opening ceremony of the competition and the track regulations:

“I only talked to him about the opening ceremony; the topic of the red carpet was never discussed between us. It couldn’t have happened, because I knew from December 17, when I actually started working, that there was a canon that we couldn’t break.”

Sergei commented on the passage about Mons Zelmerlev as follows: “Why is this a question for me? If the EBU told me: “Last year's winner meets everyone on the red carpet,” would I be against it? It’s too much to even talk about. I love Jamala, I go to all her concerts and buy tickets, no one has ever invited me,” Sergei turned the arrows, although it was only enough to note that Mons at the last Eurovision was not only the winner of the competition, but also the official host of the ceremony .

As one of the commentators rightly noted, many people have something to say about the Ukrainian Eurovision organization, but everyone traditionally waits for the end of the competition and remains silent. And then no one will care. Therefore, I suggest that controversial points not be hushed up and I promise to provide a platform for everyone who is ready to speak constructively and to the point.