The Ukrainian entry for the 2017 contest will be selected through a national final, which NTU will organize in collaboration with STB, the commercial broadcaster. The selection of the competing entries for the national final and ultimately the Ukrainian Eurovision entry will be held in three stages. The overall winning entry will be determined via the 50/50 combination of votes from a public televote and an expert jury.
The expert jury that votes during the shows consists of Konstantin Meladze, composer and producer, Jamala, singer and songwriter, winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 for Ukraine, Andriy Danylko, comedian and singer who represented Ukraine in 2007 as the drag artist Verka Serduchka.
"Kyiv International Exhibition Centre" will be the arena for Eurovision Song Contest 2017. The expo center is an indoor exhibition center spanning over an area of 58,000 square meters, hosting major exhibitions and trade fairs. The capacity of Kyiv International Exhibition Centre will be up to 10,000 people for each of the three live shows and the six rehearsals, with around 3,000 standing and 7,000 seated spectators. The Kyiv International Exhibition Center is an internationally recognized venue and prides itself as the biggest expo center in Ukraine.
The expo center is situated in five-minute walk from Livoberezhna underground station at Brovarsky Avenue and only some stops by metro or 10 minutes away from the center of the city. It also has good connection with Boryspil International Airport lying at 27 km distance.
The preparations inside the expo center will start on 18 March 2017, where the technical and creative teams behind Eurovision 2017 take over the arena for the next couple of months.
The stage is designed by Florian Wieder – a champion in stage design. The stage design is a circular footprint, which exemplifies the theme of the contest this year: Celebrating Diversity.
Other locations will also include the Red Carpet, Euroclub, Eurovision Village and Euro Fan Café.
The Red Carpet will be located in Sofiyska Square outside of Saint Sophia's Cathedral in Kyiv. Here all the contestants are presented for the press, fans and guests with lots of beautiful dresses, festivities and selfies. The Opening Ceremony takes place inside Saint Sophia's Cathedral, UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The Euro Club is the venue for some special parties, the official after parties and performances by participants. City of Kyiv plans to house the Euroclub at the Parkovy CEC, an exhibition center in the Ukrainian capital.
Eurovision Village is the official festival area in Kyiv during Eurovision Song Contest 2017. In Eurovision Village you can see live performances by artists, DJs, special events and public viewing of the shows broadcasted from the Arena. It is open for everyone. The location of Eurovision Village 2017 has not been decided yet, but it used to be located at a central square in the host city.
Euro Fan Café is open for everyone where you can mingle with other Eurovision fans, have a drink, get a bite, join some of the events like quizzes, competitions, performances and meets and greets with some of the artists. The location of Euro Fan Café 2017 has not been decided yet.
Tickets for Eurovision Song Contest 2017 go on sale from 6 February 2017.
Photo source: eurovisionworld.com, getty images. All photos belong to their rightful owners.
