People want Russia kicked out of Eurovision Song Contest as punishment for invasion

On Wednesday night, news broke that Russia had officially begun its invasion of Ukraine, which set off a chain of world leaders reacting to the invasion.

In the US, President Biden said he condemned Russia's attack on Ukraine and promised the Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, that the US would place sanctions on Russia to hold it accountable.

In the UK, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he was appalled by Russia's actions and like the US, would be taking steps to respond decisively.

And people on Twitter - they want Russia out of Eurovision.

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Eurovision is the annual singing performance competition broadcast by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Countries with active EBU broadcast memberships are allowed to participate, which includes Russia.

Countries are rarely kicked off for non-Eurovision-related reasons but most recently Belarus was expelled due to controversial song lyrics that the performers refused to change.

Some fans believe Russia's invasion of Ukraine is a good enough reason to ban Russia from competing, but a statement from the contest and broadcasting network EBU said Russia will remain a contestant in this year's Eurovision set to air in May.

"The Eurovision Song Contest is a non-political cultural event which unites nations and celebrates diversity through music," the release said. "The EBU’s public broadcaster members in both Russia and Ukraine have committed to participating in this year’s event in Turin and we are currently planning to welcome artists from both countries."

While people don't necessarily agree with the EBU's stance, others believe Russian citizens should be not punished for President Vladimir Putin's actions, which are unsupported by most Russians.

The Eurovision sanctions are unlikely to happen unless contestants begin involving politics in their performances, like Belarus's. But no doubt Russia will face other sanctions from countries across the world.

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