Kyiv hopes to put on a good show when the Eurovision Song Contest comes in May, but a video posted recently by the Foreign Ministry has Kyivans wondering if the show includes whitewashing the Ukrainian capital’s drawbacks.
The video, which was posted on Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Facebook account on March 28, shows Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko talking about comfortable public transport, safety and modernity as Kyiv’s tourist attractions.
However, many Kyivans have since complained about the poor quality of its video, editing quality and inaccuracy.
Many Kyiv citizens were confused by the video posted on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Facebook page on March 28. (Facebook / Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
One Facebook user, Oleg Rivtin, even came up with his own version of the Eurovision video, which has thus far gained at least 68,000 views. In a Facebook post accompanying the video, he said he wanted to concentrate on the “good sides” but there are just too many “bad ones” that need attention.
His video showed footage of Kyiv’s crammed buses, police fights, rubbish on the streets and unfinished constructions, which were edited to throw Klitschko’s words into comic relief. Other users went on to create similar spoof videos.
“That’s public transport problems, problems with illegal construction, problems with the police, the Podil Bridge that has been ‘under construction’ for over 20 years now, and of course the more global issue of dirt in Kyiv,” Rivtin wrote.
Facebook user Oleg Rivtin went on to create his own version of Klitschko’s promotional video showing crammed buses, dirt, and unfinished constructions. (Facebook / Oleg Rivtin)
For some, the official video was too idyllic to accept silently.
“I want to live in (this) Kyiv!” Facebook blogger Yuliya Savostina said on Facebook on March 29. “I want to be able to cycle through Kyiv, but where do I find roads like Khreshchatyk Street, but away from Khreshchatyk?”
The video shows Klitschko cycling along with other cyclists on Kyiv’s central street.
In the last couple of years, Kyiv has made a couple of attempts to introduce cycle lanes, but they are still rather rare, inconvenient and inconsistent, ending abruptly and leaving cyclists confused as to where they’re supposed to go once the lane ends.
Many cyclists resort to using busy car lanes instead, a practice dangerous for at least two reasons: the heavy traffic and the poor quality of Kyiv roads, many of which need repairing.
Oksana Zinovieva, Klitschko’s press secretary, was quick to defend it.
“I didn’t want to jump into this discussion,” she wrote on March 29, “We, the press service of Klitschko, made this video ourselves and did not spend a single kopeck from the Eurovision budget or Kyiv budget on it, or any other videos that we previously made.”
She also explained that the video was made in summer when Ukraine was still choosing a host city, in order to promote Kyiv as the host, and that is why it is so “broad and informative,” showing how many airports and hotels that Kyiv has, its good infrastructure and safety.
Zinovieva said she was surprised to see it popping up now, as she never passed it on to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“It is strange how a video that is not finalized or presented by a city as an official promo suddenly appears. And it is also interesting how this video ended up in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Nobody contacted us or agreed anything with us,” she said.
