KAZKA group declines to participate in Eurovision 2019

Only yesterday it became known that Maruv, the winner of the national selection, had declined to participate in Eurovision 2019, followed by the band Freedom Jazz, which took second place in the voting results.  The reason was the onerous terms of the contract, under which participants had to pay for their own band's travel to Israel and other locations. Participants would undoubtedly have had to take on debt, as Ruslana once did. 

Freedom Jazz did not justify its refusal.

KAZKA's reaction

The group KAZKA took third place in the national selection. They were the next to be offered the chance to participate in Eurovision 2019. However, today a reaction from the band appeared on their Instagram page.

According to the artists, they would very much like to represent Ukraine at Eurovision in Israel. They had invested a lot of time and effort into this. It was the desire to perform on stage that led the performers to the national selection. However, winning at all costs is not what the band wants. The artists did not want to become the cause of conflicts, so they will not go to Eurovision 2019. This is their official refusal to participate in the contest. At least this year.

At the same time, KAZKA noted that in 2020 they would return to the national selection with a new composition and test their strength again.

For now, they are moving on and heading out on a concert tour.

It is worth noting that many fans of the contest were convinced that the results had been rigged. First and foremost, this idea was prompted by a video in which the group KAZKA was featured as a finalist, even though they had not yet had a chance to perform in the selection.

Then came the scandal with Maruv and Freedom Jazz's refusal. It created the impression that all this was done so that KAZKA would go to Israel. Presumably, the band did not want to take part in such a farce and tactfully declined the offer from the National Television Company.

As a result, the fate of Ukraine's participant remains in question for now. Who will agree to go to the contest? Or perhaps the country will refuse to participate this year altogether; for now, one can only speculate.