 Will Ruslana's Dream Be Kyiv's Nightmare? By Scott LEWIS |
That's great if the winner hails from London or Paris, cities with developed tourist and convention infrastructures. They merely need to book space and plan parties. For smaller cities that are part of the former Soviet bloc, like Tallinn and Riga, the challenge is greater.
Even in Ireland, a nation considerably wealthier than Ukraine, the host cities of Dublin and Cork had to scramble to secure venues large and modern enough to meet Eurovision's technical and capacity needs. And hosting the contest can be expensive: Ireland's four victories in five years during the 1990s left the national broadcaster, RTE, with severe financial difficulties.
In recent years, another factor has become more important as well: the contest has grown considerably. Not only are more countries entering the competition, but more people are attending the event itself. And what with semi-finals, dress rehearsals, press conferences, public events and hosted parties for officials and international VIPs, the Eurovision Song Contest has become far more involved than the three-hour televised program would suggest.
Eurovision has grown sufficiently that in 1993 Cork, Ireland was able to host the competition in a 4,000-seat arena. Last year, Istanbul needed a 10,000-seat hall to do the job. In 2005, when the contest will observe its 50th anniversary, organizers are projecting that 10,000 seats will be the minimum capacity necessary, and Kyiv is moving forward with plans to construct a 20,000-seat center built to the European standards needed to accommodate the event's technical and staging requirements.
Omelchenko's Promise
Eurovision officials, including contest director Svante Stokselius, are scheduled to visit Kyiv between July 6 and 11. The Eurovision brass will met with government and television officials to review the contest's needs and get a first look at the country's plans. Ukraine's national television company is expected to sign a formal agreement with the European Broadcasting Union, which produces the song contest, by August 1.
The EBU will provide roughly half of contest's estimated budget of $7.5 million, with the balance being the host's responsibility. Plus, the EBU has cautioned that the $7.5 million figure includes only the basic cost of televising the event. It doesn't cover other hosting costs or the cost of building new facilities.
Kyiv Mayor Aleksandr Omelchenko has already indicated that the city intends to ask the government for at least $3 million in additional aid.
The EBU also requires that lodging be made available for the 2,000 people expected to be part of official delegations, that a 600-seat press center be provided, and that visitors to the festival be housed no further than a 30-minute drive from the venue.
The city's existing venues are either too small for the competition or are not up to European standards. Initially, it was rumored that a full or partial dome for the 83,053-seat Republic Stadium was under consideration, but on June 8, Omelchenko announced that a new hall would be designed and built at the city's exhibition center near the Livoberezhna Metro station on the Dnieper's left bank. The mayor also said that five new hotel-office complexes were needed within a year to meet housing needs.
A spokesman for Ukraine's National Television Company dismissed any concerns.
"I know that the time is short, but things can move pretty quickly here," said Yuriy Melnyk. "All we need is the will to get things done, and I am sure that we have that."
Ready for Prime Time?
In the days following the contest, the nation went slightly Ruslana-mad. The singer was widely featured in local media. She was appointed advisor to the prime minister. The president bestowed one of the country's highest honors on her. For a while, she appeared poised to threaten Taras Shevchenko for the status of the nation's most beloved artist.
The foreign press expressed some interest in the singer, who holds two degrees in music, cryptically describing her as a "cult figure among the most popular Ukrainian singers, composers and producers." Primarily, though, they focused on the country's apparent inability to pull off a respectable 2005 Eurovision show.
In Russia, a Pravda headline told the story: "Kyiv not ready to host Eurovision." From a Scottish newspaper: "Eurovision victors singing the blues over hosting contest." The BBC wrote of "Ukraine's wary Eurovision joy."
A Matter of Pride
For a complex European Union wannabe country that believes it is misunderstood abroad, large-scale events - whether the Eurovision Song Contest, a world's fair, the Olympics or a NATO summit - are seen as god-sent opportunities to prove that it is not inferior.
While the EBU does provide some cash to host cities to help defray expenses, the bulk of the expense is borne by the host - in this case, Kyiv and Ukraine's national television company. Previous contests have cost hosts as much as $5 million. In Ukraine, where a suitable venue doesn't presently exist and additional hotel capacity may be required, the government's out-of-pocket expense could be a budget-buster.
Yet, as with world-class events like world's fairs and the Olympic Games, the cost cannot be balanced solely against the short-term boost in tourism.
New facilities built for the event can be used for years thereafter, giving the country continued revenue from future conventions and events that it otherwise wouldn't have had.
A Big, Expensive Party
In Istanbul, the event's welcome party was held in a former Ottoman palace that attracted contestants, organizers and a who's who of the host country - the tourism minister, the head of the football federation, businessmen and actresses. A special publication, the Eurovision Gazette, was launched to list the event's various functions around town. Every night, city workers washed the roads around the Abdi Ipekci hall where the contest took place and streets in Istanbul's "Eurovision Island" were resurfaced and pavement painted in the red and white colors of the Turkish flag. Parks were redesigned, and the road from the airport was lined with flags. Embassies of the countries involved in the competition hosted Eurovision receptions. Turkish politicians, from the prime minister down, strove to impress upon the public what a good show it would be.
"About a billion people will be watching the Eurovision Song Contest," said Bulent Osma, executive producer of the event. "For two nights, these people will see short films about Turkey and watch a broadcast organized here. The value of this is absolutely immeasurable."
A Tacky Show
The contest is a television tradition throughout Europe. Even its dedicated fans - and hundreds make an annual pilgrimage to see the show live regardless of the venue - love to hate the show. One Web site described the competition as "a televised orgasm of tacky pop music, over-the-top costumes and defiant nationalism. Eurovision presents a parade of earnest B-list singers, prejudiced national judges and a musically dubious winner at the end of the night."
English-language viewers of the 2004 contest heard the BBC's commentator, Irishman Terry Wogan, pepper the program with dry derision throughout. Wogan dubbed Ruslana "Xena, Warrior Princess." For viewers, the contest's reputation for badness is all part of the show.
Ruslana's chances of taking her Eurovision success directly to the bank seem slim. Few of the contest's winners have become major stars. Sweden's ABBA, perhaps the best-known Eurovision winner, was fairly well-established before their win with “Waterloo” in 1974. Canada's Celine Dion won in 1988, though a quirk in the contest's rules allowed her to represent Switzerland with her French-language number, "Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi." Luxembourg's 1980 entrant, Sophie Magaly, didn't come close to winning, though their song, "La Papa Pingouin" sold more than a million copies after they appeared in the contest in satin jumpsuits, on either side of a fellow dressed as a penguin.
Everyone Can Profit
Ukraine's savvy entrepreneurs were preparing to profit from the 2005 contest even before the triumphant Ruslana had returned to Ukraine from Turkey.
Overnight, hotels froze blocks of rooms during the time that Eurovision events are likely to be held, and some have already announced "Eurovision Special" booking promotions.
The folks who hawk traditional Ukrainian souvenirs along Andriyvskyi Uzviz will no doubt be ordering additional matryoshka dolls, embroidered shirts and "CCCP"-emblazoned T-shirts, but some even stranger national fare may be presented to unsuspecting tourists.
Chocolate-covered salo is likely to be one of the dishes they are offered, especially as Ruslana is a fan of the stuff - nicknamed Ukrainian Snickers. "I love it as it's unusual," the singer enthused. "I was given the first serving of Lviv's chocolate salo. Perhaps they were testing my bravery, but I ate it and I'm still alive!"
Alive and doing wild dances.
Scott Lewis is managing editor of The Ukrainian Observer.
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Read also previous issue' articles:
Tourism: Ukraine's Greatest Lost Opportunity
Cars, Cars - and More Cars
The Long Slide Into Instability
Sex, Money and the Modern Dacha
How to Stop Worrying and Love the Property Market
Separating Chornobyl
Fact and Fiction
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