Robbie Williams ready to step in for Russia in case of Eurovision ban

We already knew he liked to Party like a Russian, but apparently Robbie Williams is prepared to go a step further. Last night the star announced live on Russian TV that he would be delighted to represent Russia at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest.

“I would like to represent Russia at Eurovision. [...] Come on, Russia, we can win,” he said on the Pust govoryat (Let them talk) chat show.

This may well be necessary, given yesterday’s revelation that Ukraine’s National Security Service has already written up the necessary paperwork to ban Russia’s chosen representative, Yulia Samoylova, from entering Ukraine to participate in the contest in May.

Samoylova’s attendance is in jeopardy, after it came to light that the singer has performed in Crimea since it was annexed by Russia in 2014.

“At this very moment, no official decision has been made, but I’ll reveal this secret: the necessary document has already been prepared,” Vasyl Hrytsak, who heads Ukraine’s National Security Service, told reporters yesterday. The security chief added that the performer not only visited Crimea in 2015, but “left traces on social media, where she shared her thoughts about Ukraine, its officials, and the course they took on European integration”.

Russia’s choice of contestant has brought another scandal to a Eurovision already fraught with controversy and obstacles, including funding challenges and mass resignations.

Source: Sobaka (in Russian) and The Moscow Times