The slogan for this year’s Eurovision is “Celebrate Diversity.” And Ukraine, in all its messages, is trying to show just that. Our correspondent takes a look at what this means in the reality of Eastern Europe and Ukraine’s hopes for the future.

TRANSCRIPT OF VIDEO REPORT

Diversity is about inclusivity for all — for the disabled, for ethnic minorities, for the LGBT community and others considered outside the traditional norms of society. The slogan “Celebrate Diversity” happens to be the theme of the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest. With its EU aspirations, Ukraine is certainly trying to embrace this idea when welcoming its Western counterparts.

Vitali Klitschko, Mayor of Kyiv

It’s very important to Kyiv, to Ukraine right now…. Welcome to Kyiv, Welcome to Ukraine.

But as Eurovision host Ukraine promotes diversity, it’s important to analyze the reality. Acceptance of such minority groups still lags behind western European nations — however, isn’t all that different from most conservative Eastern European countries — certainly when it comes to views on LGBT persons.

Ukraine, however, is significantly more advanced in its consideration of diversity than several other Eastern European countries. Armenia, Belarus, and Russia have officially adopted less tolerant views towards the LGBT community.

Recently, Russia’s war against the LGBT community has intensified. Top officials in the Chechen Republic are accused of incarcerating, torturing and murdering LGBT persons and even denying their very existence.

Igor Kochetkov, LGBT Network Activist

We can speak with certainty that at least over 100 people have been kidnapped, that those people have been held in prison illegally. They were tortured with electricity, and dozens of people have been killed.

Fortunately, when considering Ukraine, there’s a lot of hope to be had about changing perspectives — and changing for the better.

Consider the case of Israel. The country went from being outraged over its 1998 Eurovision entry, transsexual Dana International, to being, today, one of the world’s most gay-friendly destinations.

Abrasha Munkes, Eurovision Fan From London, England

And what’s so amazing about Eurovision is we have the differences, but everyone is together nevertheless.

Ukraine is indeed changing for the better. Although it’s a slow, sometimes frustrating, process. But, as we’ve seen with last year’s successful Pride and Equality March in Kyiv, there’s plenty of reason to be hopeful.