Image copyright Getty Images Image caption The 2017 Eurovision Song Contest will be held in Kiev, after Ukrainian singer Jamala won last year's competition

The Eurovision Song Contest has hit a major road bump, after 21 top level staff organising the event resigned.

The Ukrainian Eurovision team say they were stripped of major responsibilities in December, when a new boss was appointed to the organising committee.

According to their resignation letter, they were "completely blocked" from making decisions about the show.

The EBU, which founded Eurovision, told Ukraine's public broadcaster to "stick to the timeline" despite the upheaval.

It insisted the event would go ahead as planned in Kiev this May.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Lucie Jones performs Never Give Up On You, the UK's entry for the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest.

Among the team members who resigned were two executive producers of this year's show.

All the staff were appointed by the Ukraine Public Broadcaster (UA:PBC), which is organising the contest after Ukrainian singer Jamala won last year's event with the song 1944.

In an open letter published by Strana, the team said: "Hereby we, the Eurovision team, for whom this contest has become not only part of our work but also part of our life, officially inform that we are resigning and stopping work on preparations for the organisation of the contest."

Analysis: Is the contest in jeopardy?

Putting on the Eurovision Song Contest is a huge undertaking. In 2010, Norwegian broadcaster NRK had to ditch the World Cup because it couldn't afford to pay Fifa and foot the bill for Eurovision at the same time.

In Ukraine, the task has proved even more problematic. The decision over which city would host the show was delayed three times and there were even rumours the contest would be moved to Russia.

Now, with just three months to go, the core team has quit. They've been at loggerheads with their boss, who they claim has been blocking all of their decisions. They also say there have been problems finalising contracts with subcontractors. At worst, that could include the teams who build the stage.

The show must go on - and the EBU, which has organised the contest since 1956, has the financial and political muscle to make sure it does. But it will be interesting to see how close to the wire it gets.

They said preparations "stopped for almost two months" after the appointment of Eurovision co-ordinator Pavlo Hrytsak last year, adding, "the work of our team was completely blocked".

They also said a decision to increase the event's budget to 29m euro (£24.5m), up from 22m euro (£18.6m) would deprive Ukraine's state broadcaster of millions in profit.

The EBU said it could not comment on the staffing matters raised in the letter, but thanked the team for their hard work.

In a statement, it added: "We have reiterated to UA:PBC the importance of a speedy and efficient implementation of plans already agreed, despite staff changes and that we stick to the timeline and milestones that have been established and approved by the Reference Group to ensure a successful Contest in May."

Image copyright Reuters Image caption The organising team claimed they were shut out of decisions by Eurovision co-ordinator Pavlo Hrytsak

This year's Eurovision Song Contest final is due to take place in Kiev on 13 May.

Britain will be represented by former X Factor contestant Lucie Jones in this year's competition. The Welsh singer was chosen by a public vote after performing her ballad, Never Give Up On You, on BBC Two's Eurovision: You Decide.

The song was co-written by Danish star Emmelie de Forest, who won the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 with the song Only Teardrops.

'Dancing on tombstone'

There has already been controversy over the decision to hold the Eurovision opening ceremony in the Saint Sophia complex, a well-known religious landmark which dates back to the 17th Century.

The use of the venue was called "blasphemy" by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Moscow Patriarchy.

"From all viewpoints, this is a very bad decision," Andrei Kurayev, a prominent deacon of the Russian Orthodox Church, was quoted as saying by Mosokovski Komsomolets. "Now, on the tombstone of [Mstislav I of Kiev], there will be dances."

Later, Zurab Alasania, head of Ukraine's national TV and radio company, resigned amidst reports that the country was having troubles financing the song contest.

Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.</s>The producers of the Eurovision song contest have issued a reminder to the Ukrainian organisers of this year's event to stick "to the timeline" after a number of top level staff quit.

A reported 21 members of the Ukraine Public Broadcaster (UA:PBC), including two executive producers, the event manager and head of security, resigned over "staffing matters", the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) said.

The EBU, which founded the event in 1956, released a statement thanking those for their work and reiterated that the event would take place in Kiev in May.

It said: "The group felt they were not able to continue work on the project owing to staffing matters at UA:PBC, which the EBU cannot fully comment on."

"The team have been instrumental in the planning for this year's Eurovision Song Contest and we thank them for their hard work

"We have reiterated to UA:PBC the importance of a speedy and efficient implementation of plans already agreed, despite staff changes, and that we stick to the timeline and milestones that have been established and approved by the reference group to ensure a successful contest in May."

Among those who quit were executive producers Oleksandr Kharebin and Victoria Romanova and commercial director Iryna Asman.

Last year, Ukraine won the Eurovision Song Contest with the song 1944 performed by Jamala.

Britain will be represented by former X Factor contestant Lucie Jones in this year's contest after she saw off five other former hopefuls from the ITV show in a BBC one-off competition.

She won the slot with a rendition of her song Never Give Up On You during the live voting programme in January.</s>The team behind the next Eurovision Song Contest has been thrown into crisis after a number of top level staff quit, prompting producers remind them to stick "to the timeline".

The next contest is set to take place in Ukraine, after their politically charged entry won last year.

A reported 21 members of the Ukraine Public Broadcaster (UA:PBC), including two executive producers, the event manager and head of security, resigned over "staffing matters", the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) said.

The EBU, which founded Eurovision in 1956, released reiterating the need to "stick to the timeline" and insisting the event would go ahead in Kiev in May.</s>The Eurovision Song Contest has been thrown into chaos after 21 members of the organising committee resigned.

The Ukrainian Eurovision team claim they were "completely blocked” from making decisions about the show following the appointment of a new boss in December.

In an open letter published by Strana, the committee said: “Hereby we, the Eurovision team, for whom this contest has become not only part of our work but also part of our life, officially inform that we are resigning and stopping work on preparations for the organisation of the contest.”

Director general Pavlo Hrytsak - who has been involved with various Eurovision contests - was singled out in the letter which claimed his appointment last year meant "the work of our team was completely blocked."

The committee complained how upping the budget from 22m Euro (£18.6m) to to 29m Euro (£24.5m) meant Ukraine Public Broadcaster (UA:PBC) - who appointed the team - would be deprived of profit.

Despite theses latest developments, the contest final is still expected to take place in Kiev on 13 May. Founders of Eurovision, The European Broadcasting Union, said in a statement they are staffing matters in the meantime.

Their statement continues: ”We have reiterated to UA:PBC the importance of a speedy and efficient implementation of plans already agreed, despite staff changes and that we stick to the timeline and milestones that have been established and approved by the Reference Group to ensure a successful contest."

Following Ukrainian singer Jamala's remarkable win with the moving “1944” at the 2016 Eurovision, the country automatically became the chosen host for the 2017 ceremony.

Meanwhile, former X Factor contestant Lucie Jones has been chosen to represent UK at the event later this year.</s>This year's Eurovision Song Contest is up in the air after 21 top level organising staff walked out over a budget row.

Two executive producers, the event manager and the head of security are thought to be among the Ukrainian contingent to have resigned over what is being described as 'staffing matters' by the event's official body.

The mass walkout prompted the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) to insist plans for the 2017 competition in Kiev will 'stick to the timeline'.

Executive producers Victoria Romanova and Oleksandr Kharebin and several of their team quit on Monday, saying they felt sidelined by the appointment of a new event coordinator and worried by a lack of transparency in decision-making.

They also said a decision to increase the event's budget to €29million from €22million would deprive Ukraine's state broadcaster of up to €8million of profit.

Criticizing the increased budget, Khaberin, the former executive producer, said in an interview with Ukrainian TV channel 112: 'We do not understand, we do not know why it was done.

'And it is hard for us to imagine how we can be a part of this process.'

Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman also weighed in on the resignations.

'We are conducting the preparation for Eurovision properly. Absolutely nothing threatens Eurovision,' he told a televised government meeting on Tuesday.

Pavlo Hrytsak, deputy director of Ukrainian Public TV, said organisers were coordinating closely with the EBU, which operates Eurovision, and added: 'Everything is going on according to the plan.'

Ukraine won the right to stage the 62nd Eurovision contest in 2017 after a surprise win last year for Jamala, an ethnic Tatar from Crimea, with a song about the war-time deportations of Tatars under Joseph Stalin.

Jamala's victory irked Moscow but gave Ukrainians something to cheer after Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the subsequent outbreak of separatist violence in the Donbass region.

The EBU said in a statement that it would not comment directly on 'staffing matters' but reiterated the 'importance of a speedy and efficient implementation of plans already agreed'.</s>This year's Eurovision Song Contest in Ukraine has been plunged into crisis after twenty-one high profile members of the organising staff quit.

The show's Executive Producers, Victoria Romanova and Oleksandr Kharebin, were among those who tendered their resignations, claiming they were sidelined when a new boss was appointed to the organising committee back in December.

They also said a decision to increase the event's budget to €29 million from €22 million would deprive Ukraine's state broadcaster of up to €8 million in profit.

Criticising the increased budget, former Executive Producer Kharebin, said in an interview with a Ukrainian TV channel that "we do not understand, we do not know why it was done. And it is hard for us to imagine how we can be a part of this process."

Despite the mass walkout, officials say preparations for the the Song Contest in May will not be derailed.

The European Broadcasting Union, which operates the Eurovision Song Contest, said it would not comment on what it called "staffing matters" but reiterated the "importance of a speedy and efficient implementation of plans already agreed".

Yesterday the first wave of tickets for the all the Eurovision shows in Kyiv in May went on sale, with many fans reporting difficulties with online payments.

Ukraine won the right to stage this year's Eurovision contest after pulling off a surprise win in Stockholm last year for Jamala, with her song 1944 about war-time deportations of Crimean Tatars under Joseph Stalin.

 

 Although Russia's entry sung by Sergey Lazarev looked certain to win, Ukraine scored a resounding victory drawn largely from the public vote which was announced separately at the end of the show for the first time to heighten excitement.

This year Ireland's entry will be performed by Galway singer and Hometown band member Brendan Murray, though a song has yet to be unveiled.

Ireland face a tough challenge this year to make it through to the final after it was drawn in the second semi-final on Thursday May 11 in Kyiv alongside the likes of serial qualifiers such as Russia, Denmark, the Netherlands, Malta, Serbia and Romania.</s>Last year it stole the show with a haunting, politically charged ballad about Stalin’s deportation of Crimean Tartars. Now Ukraine risks “nul points” for its hosting of the Eurovision song contest after almost all the top organisers of the 2017 event quit.

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has warned Ukraine’s public broadcaster UA:PBC to “stick to the timeline” following the abrupt resignation last week of 21 members of the company’s senior Eurovision team, including two executive producers, the event manager and head of security.

The setback is the latest to afflict this year’s competition after reports Ukraine was having serious difficulty financing it and complaints from the Orthodox church that the choice of venue for the opening ceremony, a cathedral dating back to the 11th century, amounted to blasphemy.

While it thanked the departing team members for their work so far, the EBU, which founded the popular pan–European contest in 1956, said every effort must now be made to ensure the show goes on as planned in Kiev in May despite what it described as “staffing matters”.

The group said: “We have reiterated the importance of a speedy and efficient implementation of the plans already agreed … and that we stick to the timeline established and approved by the reference group to ensure a successful contest.”

The show’s executive producers, Victoria Romanova and Oleksandr Kharebin, and most of their team stepped down on Monday, saying in a letter published by the Strana news site that they felt sidelined by a new event coordinator and worried by a lack of transparency in decision-making.

“Hereby we, the Eurovision team, for whom this contest has become not only part of our work but also part of our life, officially announced that we are leaving this project and stopping work on the preparation for the contest,” the signatories said.

They said preparations on the show had stopped for almost two months after Pavlo Hrytsak, the deputy head of Ukrainian state television, was appointed official event coordinator late last year – a move they said had “completely blocked” their work.

“We do not want to comment on the managerial skills, project management principles, communication skills, professional achievements, as well as the values and goals of management,” the letter continued.

Hrytsak insisted the organisers were coordinating closely with the EBU and that “everything is going on according to plan”. Ukraine’s prime minister, Volodymyr Groysman, also insisted preparations were being conducted “properly” and “absolutely nothing threatens Eurovision”.

Ukraine won the right to stage the 62nd Eurovision contest after last year’s unexpected victory by Jamala, an ethnic Tatar from Crimea, with the controversial ballad 1944, about the wartime deportations of Tatars under Joseph Stalin.



The result annoyed Moscow but cheered many Ukrainians following Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the subsequent fighting in the Donbass region of eastern Ukraine. Jamala said before the contest – one of the most politicised in years – that her song also referred to more recent events in the peninsula.



Zurab Alasania, the head of Ukrainian state TV and radio, resigned last year citing a funding crisis so severe it threatened UA:PBC’s ability to host the 2017 show, while the Orthodox church has sharply criticised the choice of the historic St Sophia’s cathedral complex, a Unesco world heritage site, for the opening ceremony.</s>Ukraine shrugs off threat to Eurovision after resignations

KIEV, Feb 14 (Reuters) - Ukraine's preparations to host the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest in May will not be derailed by the high-profile resignations of several organizing members, Ukrainian officials said on Tuesday.

Executive producers Victoria Romanova and Oleksandr Kharebin and several of their team quit on Monday, saying they felt sidelined by the appointment of a new event coordinator and worried by a lack of transparency in decision-making.

They also said a decision to increase the event's budget to 29 million euros from 22 million euros would deprive Ukraine's state broadcaster of 7-8 million euros of profit.

"Everything is going on according to the plan," said Pavlo Hrytsak, deputy director of Ukrainian Public TV, adding that organisers were coordinating closely with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which operates Eurovision.

Ukraine won the right to stage the 62nd Eurovision contest in 2017 after a surprise win last year for Jamala, an ethnic Tatar from Crimea, with a song about the war-time deportations of Tatars under Joseph Stalin.

Jamala's victory irked Moscow but gave Ukrainians something to cheer after Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the subsequent outbreak of separatist violence in the Donbass region.

The EBU said in a statement that it would not comment directly on "staffing matters" but reiterated the "importance of a speedy and efficient implementation of plans already agreed".

Criticizing the increased budget, Khaberin, the former executive producer, said in an interview with Ukrainian TV channel 112: "we do not understand, we do not know why it was done. And it is hard for us to imagine how we can be a part of this process."

Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman also weighed in on the resignations.

"We are conducting the preparation for Eurovision properly. Absolutely nothing threatens Eurovision," he told a televised government meeting on Tuesday. (Additional reporting by Natalia Zinets; writing by Matthias Williams; editing by Richard Lough)</s>Ukraine’s preparations to host the Eurovision song contest in May will not be derailed by the high-profile resignations of several organising members in a row over staffing and “transparency”, Ukrainian officials said on Tuesday.

A reported 21 members of the Ukraine Public Broadcaster (UA:PBC), including two executive producers, the event manager and head of security, have resigned from this year’s Eurovision team over “staffing matters”, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) said.

The EBU, which founded the song contest in 1956, released a statement reiterating that the event would take place in Kiev in May.

It said: “The group felt they were not able to continue work on the project owing to staffing matters at UA:PBC, which the EBU cannot fully comment on.

“The team have been instrumental in the planning for this year’s Eurovision song contest and we thank them for their hard work

“We have reiterated to UA:PBC the importance of a speedy and efficient implementation of plans already agreed, despite staff changes, and that we stick to the timeline and milestones that have been established and approved by the reference group to ensure a successful contest in May.”

Among those who quit were executive producers Oleksandr Kharebin and Victoria Romanova and commercial director Iryna Asman, saying they felt sidelined by the appointment of a new event co-ordinator and worried by a lack of transparency in decision-making.

They also said a decision to increase the event’s budget to €29 million from €22 million would deprive Ukraine’s state broadcaster of €7-€8 million of profit.

Last year, Ukraine won the Eurovision song contest with the song 1944, performed by Jamala.</s>Catalan Manel Navarro will represent Spain at this year's flamboyant contest in Kiev, Ukraine with his catchy, upbeat song Do It For Your Lover
Twenty-one organizers for the Eurovision Song Contest in Kiev, Ukraine, resign en masse after claiming they were completely blocked from making decisions about the show. Despite the setback, the European Broadcasting Union insists that the event must go on.