Boris Johnson has said he hopes Ukraine will be able to host next year’s Eurovision Song Contest saying it deserves to do so.
The BBC is in talks with the European Broadcasting Union about hosting the event after the EBU ruled it could not go ahead in Ukraine as planned. The UK was runner-up in the 2022 contest.
But speaking to reporters at RAF Brize Norton after returning from an unannounced visit to Kyiv, Mr Johnson said he believed it should be possible for the music contest to go ahead there, despite the ongoing conflict with Russia.
“I have just been to Kyiv. I won’t say it is completely jiving and buzzing and popping but it is far, far more lively. People are much more confident. People are out in the streets eating in cafes and restaurants in a way that they weren’t a even few weeks ago,” he said.
“The Ukrainians won the Eurovision Song Contest. I know we had a fantastic entry, I know we came second and I’d love it to be in this country.
“But the fact is that they won and they deserve to have it. I believe that they can have it and I believe that they should have it. I believe the Kyiv or any other safe Ukrainian city would be a fantastic place to to have it.”