As I suspected they would, the Eurovision organisers have asked Georgia to either change the lyrics of their entry, “We Don’t Wanna Put In” or choose another song. Georgia has decided to do neither of the above, and actually withdraw from the contest entirely. Quoted in the Georgian Times, Nikoloz Rurua, Georgia’s Minister of Culture, said that that he was ‘absolutely sure that the Eurovision organisers were feeling unprecedented pressure from Moscow, especially as Russia can use serious financial levers for this purpose’. I wouldn’t be so sure.

The irony is that the Russian entry was co-composed by the Georgian songwriter Konstantin Meladze, which has caused a row in Russia.