Russia has chosen to drop out of the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest entirely as controversy over its entrant continues to swirl.
The country's broadcaster Channel One had already announced it would not show this year's competition in protest to its entrant Julia Samoilova being banned from entering Eurovision host country Ukraine.
Samoilova has become the first-ever Eurovision contestant banned from the host country because she admitted to performing in Crimea after it was annexed by Russia in 2014.
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Eurovision had offered to let Samoilova perform live via satellite from Moscow, but the European Broadcasting Union says Russia rejected that offer and has quit the competition entirely.
The EBU statement reads in full: "Following the official confirmation that Russian Eurovision entrant, Julia Samoylova, will not be permitted to travel to Kyiv to compete in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017, the EBU formally offered two alternative proposals to Channel One in a bid to find a solution that would enable Russia to continue their participation in this year's event.
"These proposals were to either take part via satellite or to change their chosen artist to one who could legally travel to Ukraine for the duration of the Contest.
"Sadly both proposals have been rejected by Channel One and they have now announced they do not intend to broadcast the Eurovision Song Contest 2017."
Back when Julia's entry was first announced, a Kremlin spokesperson insisted to Russia's TASS news service that it was not trying to provoke hostility with Ukraine.
Russia won the Eurovision Song Contest back in 2008 with Dima Bilan's anthem 'Believe', and famously finished second with its Buranovskiye Babushki group of singing grandmothers in 2012.
The only bright side of these shocking turn of events is that losing a Eurovision powerhouse like Russia might just help the UK's entry Lucie Jones snag a few more votes on the night.
Graham Norton will present live coverage of the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest live from the International Exhibition Centre in Kiev on May 13.
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Justin is a freelance entertainment journalist and writer. He first joined Digital Spy as a freelance entertainment reporter in 2010 and also worked as a sub-editor for the brand, serving as Night News Editor from 2016 to 2024. Over more than a decade, Justin has covered numerous major entertainment events from the US and has interviewed a wide-ranging group of public figures, from comedian Steve Coogan to icons from the Star Trek universe, cast members from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and reality stars from numerous Real Housewives cities and the Below Deck franchise. Justin has also been on the ground to cover major pop culture events like the Star Wars Celebration and the D23 Expo. He's written for titles across the Hearst network, plus the likes of CBR and Us Weekly.
