With the first guests coming to Kyiv for the Eurovision Song Contest that will start with rehearsals on April 30, the city is almost ready for the show.
While the main venue for the Eurovision will be the International Exhibition Center on the left bank of the Dnipro River, those fans who don’t have tickets for all shows will be able to watch them at the official fan zone in the Kyiv’s center, called the Eurovision Village. The organizers have already started to construct it on Khreshchatyk Street, between Prorizna and Bohdana Khmelnytskoho streets.
The Eurovision Village will work from May 4 until May 14, while the main street will be closed for transport. The venue will have not only a screen to broadcast the opening ceremony, semi-finals and the grand final on, but also a stage, almost as big as the main one — the contest’s participants, as well as Ukrainian bands and singers, will perform there for the guests.
The food courts, games and activities will also be available. The Eurovision volunteers will work at the Village, ready to provide the show’s guests with any necessary information.
A total of 900 volunteers have already joined the Eurovision team, helping with promoting and organizing the event. They were gathered together on April 25 in front of the Kyiv City State Administration building for a symbolic initiation to service.
During the first eight days starting from April 30, each country will have brief rehearsals, press conferences and meet and greet sessions.
As many as 18 countries will compete in each of the two semi-finals on May 9 and May 11. Both semi-finals and the final will start at 10 p. m. Kyiv time, and will be broadcast by Ukraine’s national First TV channel, as well as on its website, www.1tv.com.ua/live.
Ukrainian pop rock band O. Torvald will skip the semi-final as the representative of last year’s winning country. The group moves directly into the final, as well as the participants from the five countries that founded Eurovision in 1956: Italy, Germany, France, United Kingdom and Spain. They will be joined by 20 semi-final winners in the Eurovision grand finale on May 13.
Those, who want to know more about the contest, can also visit the photo exhibition “The history of the Eurovision.” The presented 45 photographs include a picture of the Swedish pop band ABBA as they were awarded after they won the contest in 1974, Ukrainian singer Ruslana Lyzhychko, better known just as Ruslana, who won the Eurovision Song Contest in 2004, and many more.
The pictures can be found on second, third and fifth floors of the Gulliver shopping mall.
“The history of the Eurovision,” photo exhibition. Gulliver shopping mall, 2, 3, 5 floors. 1A Sportyvna St. April 26 – May 18. Free
The Eurovision Village. Khreshchatyk Street. May 4-14, 12 p.m. – 10 p.m. Free
