Rishi Sunak 'disappointed' Zelenskyy's been blocked from Eurovision

Rishi Sunak is "disappointed" by the move to block President Volodymyr Zelenskyy from speaking at the Eurovision Song Contest, his spokesman has said.

The UK is hosting the annual event in Liverpool on behalf of Ukraine, which won last year's competition and would have broadcast it themselves if not for the war, but the show's organisers want it to remain "non-political".

However, the British prime minister does not believe Mr Zelenskyy's contribution would have been political, according to his spokesman.

“The Prime Minister believes it would be fitting for President Zelensky to address the event and we’re disappointed by the decision from the European broadcasting union.

“The values and freedoms that President Zelensky and the people of Ukraine are fighting for are not political, they’re fundamental, and Eurovision themselves recognised that last year when they rightly suspended Russia’s participation from the competition,” he said.

There are no plans to intervene and ask broadcasters to change their mind, Downing Street added.

Former PM Boris Johnson also wants Mr Zelenskyy to speak at the event, however he got the date wrong when tweeting to his followers.

Mr Johnson wrote: "It would have been right to hear from President Zelenskyy at tonight's #Eurovision.

"There is only one reason the contest is not in Ukraine and that is because of Putin's illegal war."

The Grand Final at which Mr Zelenskyy was hoping to speak is taking place on Saturday night, not Friday. The former PM quickly deleted his tweet.

Mr Zelenskyy has spoken at several popular entertainment events since Russia invaded Ukraine. He was blocked from speaking at the Oscars but appeared virtually at both the Golden Globes and Grammy's.

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which produces the contest, said it had declined Mr Zelenskyy’s request to address the event’s audience on Saturday.

A statement from the EBU said: "The Eurovision Song Contest is an international entertainment show and governed by strict rules and principles which have been established since its creation.

"As part of these, one of the cornerstones of the contest is the non-political nature of the event.

"This principle prohibits the possibility of making political or similar statements as part of the contest.

"The request by Mr Zelenskyy to address the audience at the Eurovision Song Contest, whilst made with laudable intentions, regrettably cannot be granted as it would be against the rules of the event."

The UK and Ukraine are automatically in the final in Liverpool and the likes of Albania, Estonia, Belgium and Austria. Lithuania, Armenia, Slovenia, Poland, Australia and Cyprus have qualified to join them.