Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

debuted in the

Eurovision Song Contest 2003 The Eurovision Song Contest 2003 was the 48th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Riga, Latvia, following the country's victory at the with the song " I Wanna" by Marie N. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) a ...

with the song " Hasta la Vista" written by

Svika Pick Svika Pick (, 3 October 1949 – 14 August 2022), born Henryk Pick, was an Israeli pop singer, songwriter, composer, and television personality. Pick first gained traction on a national level after playing a lead part in an Israeli version of t ...

and Mirit Shem-Or. The song was performed by

Oleksandr Ponomaryov Oleksandr Ponomariov ( ua, Олександр Пономарьов; born August 9, 1973) is a Ukrainian singer. He has been awarded the country's "Singer of the Year" seven times. Ponomariov was born in Khmelnytskyi, Ukraine. One of his early ...

, who was internally selected in February 2003 by the Ukrainian broadcaster

National Television Company of Ukraine The Public Broadcasting Company of Ukraine ( uk, Національна суспільна телерадіокомпанія України, Natsionalna Suspilna Teleradiokompaniia Ukrainy; abbr. NSTU), shortened to Suspilne ( uk, Суспіль� ...

(NTU) to represent Ukraine at the 2003 contest in

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

, Latvia. The song, "Hasta la Vista", was presented to the public on 21 March 2003. Ukraine competed in the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 24 May 2003. Performing during the show in position 16, Ukraine placed fourteenth out of the 26 participating countries, scoring 30 points.

Background

On 25 May 2002, the Ukrainian national broadcaster,

(NTU), confirmed their intentions to debut at the 2003 Eurovision Song Contest for the first time after broadcasting the 2002 contest. The nation had previously planned to debut at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1993 and 1996. NTU would also broadcast the event within Ukraine and organise the selection process for the nation's entry. The Ukrainian broadcaster internally selected the 2003 Ukrainian entry.

Before Eurovision

Internal selection

It was reported in October 2002 by website ''Esctoday'' that NTU had internally selected

to represent Ukraine in Riga. Despite initially denying that an offer had been made by the broadcaster, Ponomaryov was confirmed as the Ukrainian entrant during a press conference on 13 February 2003. On 14 March 2003, it was announced that Ponomaryov would be performing the song " Hasta la Vista" at the Eurovision Song Contest. The song, written by

and Mirit Shem-Or, was selected from 52 proposals received by the singer and NTU from 20 composers worldwide. Pick had previously written the Israeli

Eurovision Song Contest 1998 The Eurovision Song Contest 1998 was the 43rd edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest, held on 9 May 1998 at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, United Kingdom. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcas ...

winning song "

Diva Diva (; ) is the Latin word for a goddess. It has often been used to refer to a celebrated woman of outstanding talent in the world of opera, theatre, cinema, fashion and popular music. If referring to an actress, the meaning of ''diva'' is clo ...

". "Hasta la Vista" was released on 21 March 2003.

Promotion

To promote "Hasta la Vista" as the Ukrainian Eurovision entry, Oleksandr Ponomaryov performed during the Latvian Eurovision national final '' Eirodziesma 2003'' on 1 February 2003.

At Eurovision

According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the bottom ten countries in the

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

contest competed in the final on 24 May 2003. On 29 November 2002, a special allocation draw was held which determined the running order and Ukraine was set to perform in position 16, following the entry from the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

and before the entry from

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

. Ukraine finished in fourteenth place with 30 points. In Ukraine, the show was broadcast on

Pershyi Natsionalnyi Pershyi ( uk, Перший, ; meaning First) is the Ukrainian public television channel, operated by the Public Broadcasting Company of Ukraine. It is the only Ukrainian TV channel covering over 97% of Ukraine's territory. Its programs are orien ...

with commentary by reporter and television presenter Dmytro Kryzhanivskyi, and radio DJ, producer and presenter

Pavlo Shylko Pavlo Yurievich Shylko ( Ukrainian: Павло Юрійович Шилько) (also known as DJ Pasha, born 6 August 1977 in Mezhdurechensk) is a Ukrainian radio and television presenter. He co-hosted Eurovision Song Contest 2005 with Maria Efro ...

. The Ukrainian spokesperson, who announced the Ukrainian votes during the final, was Liudmyla Khariv.

Voting

Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Ukraine and awarded by Ukraine in the contest. The nation awarded its 12 points to Russia in the contest.

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ukraine In The Eurovision Song Contest 2003 Countries in the Eurovision Song Contest 2003

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...