Eurovision winner Ukraine can't host next year's contest because of the war

Ukraine's Kalush Orchestra, winners of the Eurovision Song Contest, pose with their trophy in Krakovets, at the Ukraine border with Poland, on May 16. The U.K., which placed second, is in talks to host next year's event instead of Ukraine due to the war. (Mykola Tys/AP)

It's customary for the country that wins Eurovision to host the international songwriting competition the following year. But the winning country usually isn't defending itself in war at the same time.

That's the case for Ukraine, whose folk-rap group Kalush Orchestra won the contest last month. Frontman Oleh Psiuk told NPR right before the final, as Russia's war continued to devastate the country, that he was confident that a "rebuilt, whole and happy" Ukraine would be able to host Eurovision 2023 if it were to win.