The responsibility was the organisers’ solely.
I understand where they were coming from and on balance I agree I think albeit reluctantly. Not on “political” grounds but merely for fear it might strike too sombre a tone.
However we forget maybe that Zelensky is a performer by profession: he has consistent struck the appropriate note in his addresses and I suspect he would have here: we’ll never know. I am sure he was watching from Rome.
In any case, what they did have was a marvellous rendition to You’ll Never Walk Alone by Duncan Lawrence, which was the climax of a series of performances of Liverpool-related songs by past winners.
This was a simultaneous performance with Ruslana singing from the Golden Gate in Kyiv.
It had all the presenters in tears
Although I’m intrigued as to whether that was live as the Russians celebrated the event by putting the entire country under air raid alert for most of the night.
And hitting Ternopil, the home city of Tvorchi just early enough so they’d know about it before they went on stage.