Next year's Eurovision Song Contest will be held in the Ukrainian capital Kiev. The announcement today follows a series of delays over the past few weeks.
Kiev fought off bids from both Odessa and Dnipro (formerly Dnipropetrovsk) before it was chosen as the host city. However a press conference to confirm the decision was cancelled two weeks ago at the last minute as organisers said they were still discussing candidate cities.
Ukraine won the chance to host the next contest after the country's contestant Jamala emerged as the surprise winner in Stockholm, beating bookmakers favourites Russia and Australia, with a song, 1944, about war-time deportations of Crimean Tatars by the Soviet Union.
In a show known down the years for its playfulness and camp, the 32-year-old singer struck a sombre tone with her lyrics about strangers coming to "kill you all", in reference to the forced removal of ethnic Tatars by Josef Stalin during World War II.
Although Russia's entry sung by Sergey Lazarev looked certain to win, Ukraine scored a resounding victory drawn largely from the public vote which was announced separately at the end of the show for the first time to heighten excitement.
Russia later threatened to boycott next year's Eurovision with several Russian politicians claiming that the contest had been hijacked by political considerations and anti-Russian stereotypes. Eurovision rules ban any overt political statement or gestures.
After the contest Irish Eurovision fans called for RTÉ to review the way it selects its entry next year after Nicky Byrne crashed out in the semi-final. It was the third year in a row Ireland has failed to qualify for the final.
A spokesperson for RTÉ today said it is "currently engaged in a review of our Eurovision selection process" and said that details of how they will approach next year's song contest will be made "in due course".
Kiev hosted the contest back in 2005 and was also home to the Junior Eurovision Song Contest in 2009 and 2013. Organisers said fans could look forward to an "electrifying" show next May at the city's the International Exhibition Centre.
The Eurovision 2017 semi-finals will take place on Tuesday 9 and Thursday 11 May, with the grand final on Saturday 13 May.
