The press release was prepared by Anton Grushetskyi, executive director of KIIS

During February 12-24, 2026, the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) conducted its own all-Ukrainian public opinion survey "Omnibus", to which, at the request of SSX PG, added a question about the expenditure of budget funds on the organization of the Eurovision selection show. By the method of telephone interviews (computer-assistedtelephoneinterviews, CATI) based on a random sample of mobile phone numbers (with random generation of phone numbers and subsequent statistical weighting) in all regions of Ukraine (the territory controlled by the Government of Ukraine), 2004 respondents were surveyed. The survey was conducted with adult (aged 18 and older) citizens of Ukraine who, at the time of the survey, lived in the territory of Ukraine controlled by the Government of Ukraine. The sample did not include residents of territories temporarily not controlled by the Ukrainian authorities (at the same time, some of the respondents are IDPs who moved from the occupied territories), and the survey was not conducted with citizens who left abroad after February 24, 2022.

Formally, under normal circumstances, the statistical error of a sample of 2004 respondents (with a probability of 0.95 and taking into account the design effect of 1.3) does not exceed 2.8% for indicators close to 50%, 2.5% for indicators close to 25%, 1.7% for indicators close to 10%, 1.2% for indicators close to 5%.

Under conditions of war, in addition to the specified formal error, a certain systematic deviation is added. Factors that may affect the quality of results in "wartime" conditions were previously cited by KIIS.

In general, we believe that the obtained results are still highly representative and allow a fairly reliable analysis of the public moods of the population.

The majority of Ukrainians – 70% – support or are not against Ukraine's participation in Eurovision. Believe that Ukraine should not participate in the competition during the war – 27%.

At the same time, respondents were mostly critical of the use of budget funds to finance the selection show. Among the 70% who generally support/are not against Ukraine's participation, 12% consider budget funding to be quite appropriate. Another 16% support holding the selection using budget funds, but without a large-scale show. On the other hand, the relatively largest number of respondents – 42% – believe that it would have been worth finding sponsors without involving budget funds.

Table 1. As it is known, the National Selection of Ukraine's representatives at the Eurovision Song Contest is held in February. I will read several opinions regarding the expediency of spending budget funds on organizing a large-scale television show for the selection, and you tell which one is closer to yours.

            The table below shows the data broken down by individual socio-demographic categories.

Table 2. Results in terms of individual socio-demographic categories

A. Grushetskyi, comments on the survey results:

The issue of priorities in spending budget funds has always been very sensitive, and in the conditions of a full-scale existential war, it is only getting worse. Since 2022, we have been in a constant discussion, where one pole - all available resources should go exclusively to defense, and the other pole - Ukraine should try to properly finance other directions of development, in particular, culture.

In 2024, KIIS conducted a survey for the Council of Europe Office, where one of the questions was “In your opinion, which local budget expenditures of your community could be reduced to be redirected to financing the Armed Forces of Ukraine?” Among the respondents, only 22% opposed the reduction of local budgets (and we asked only about local budgets). Among the items for reduction, 37% (among all respondents) named culture, 36% - landscaping, 36% - roads[2]. That is, the majority realizes the importance of funding the Defense Forces and truly supports the allocation of funds to repel Russian aggression.

At the same time, an important question arises - to what extent can spending on, for example, culture be reduced in order not to cause irreversible damage? On the one hand, it is clear that in the event of a military defeat of Ukraine, any such considerations regarding the future of Ukrainian culture will simply be meaningless. On the other hand, it is difficult to determine the “effectiveness” of money spent on culture, and in fact there are many, at first glance imperceptible, but actually positive consequences. For example, in the case of the same Eurovision, it can be to promote the development of Ukrainian performers, increase the awareness and prestige of Ukraine abroad (which, as an option, can contribute to the tourist interest of Ukraine), maintain attention to Ukraine abroad in the conditions of the "routinization" of war (for example, how the victories of a Ukrainian in sumo attracted attention). And it is also a form of entertainment that can positively (even if temporarily) influence the moral and psychological mood of the population in conditions of war (in particular, young people).  

In this context, it is appropriate to recall the discussion about spending money on road repairs in frontline communities. Many consider this to be inappropriate spending, but the logistics of the Defense Forces and, as a result, the effectiveness of countering the Russians depend on these roads (and the rescue of many wounded soldiers depends on the quality of the roads). However, we still continue to hear criticism on this issue in 2026. If we cannot reach an agreement and calm down on this issue, then what about spending on culture.

At the same time, we must remember that in a democratic society like Ukraine, the voice of the people is important. Experts and officials may have their rationally justified objections, but  should not simply ignore public opinion. If we see people's misunderstanding of certain expenses, then there should be a proper information campaign and additional explanations. Only through civilized, mutually polite dialogue will we be able to resolve misunderstandings and find consensus.

Appendix 1. Formulation of questions from the questionnaire

The next question concerns the Eurovision Song Contest.

As it is known, the National Selection of Ukraine's representatives for the Eurovision Song Contest is held in February. I will read several opinions regarding the expediency of spending budget funds on organizing a large-scale television show for the selection, and you tell which one is closer to yours.