Ukraine: No changes to the jury panel for Vidbir 2019

STB and UA:PBC have confirmed today that the jury panel of Vidbir 2019, Ukraine’s national selection format, will remain the same with exactly the 2018 judges.
The national broadcaster confirmed that it will be sticking entirely with the same people that formed last year’s Vidbir jury panel. Therefore the members of the jury panel for Vidbir 2019 are:
- Jamala – Winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2016
- Andriy Danylko – Comedian and performer behind Verka Serduchka
- Yevhen Filatov (Eugene Filatov) – Music producer
The Head of the selection for STB commented:
We are pleased with this jury and we still do not see the need to change it. Each of our judges is a professional, everyone is strong in their direction. They perfectly complement each other. Their ratings and the difference in the views on the best song create a field for heated discussions. Who knows, this year something new will be waiting for us, and our jury members will be unanimous in choosing the winner
The participants in Vidbir 2019 are to be revealed no later than January 21 by STB and UA:PBC. The Semi-Finals are set to take place at the Palace of Culture on 9th and 16th of February 2019, with the final will take place on February 23. Sergey Pritula is expected to host the show once again.
THE EUROVISION STORY SO FAR
Ukraine debuted at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2003 with Oleksandr Ponormayov‘s Hasta la vista, and has won the competition twice in 2004 (Ruslana) and 2016 (Jamala). The country has hosted the contest twice in its majestic capital Kyiv in 2005 and 2017.
Ukraine is one of the most successful countries in the Eurovision Song Contest and has so far not missed out competing in the Grand Final while has been abcent only the 2015 edition. The country has made it 9 times in the top 10 during its 15 years of ESC participations, including 2 victories ( 2004, 2016), 2 2nd placings (2007, 2008), 1 3rd placing (2013) and 4th placing (2011).
In 2018 Ukraine was represented by Vidbir 2018 winner, Melovin with his entry Under the ladder, achieving a 17th place in the Grand Final.