Georgia officially withdrew from Eurovision 2009 in Moscow after organizers demanded changing the song We Dont Wanna Put In or choosing another. The band Stefane and 3G refused, saying it was a protest song about Russian politics.

Georgia has officially withdrawn from the Eurovision Song Contest 2009, which will take place in May in Moscow, according to a letter from the general director of Georgia’s Public Broadcaster, the organizer of the country’s selection, Levan Kubaneishvili, addressed to the executive director of the song contest, Svante Stockselius.
Recall that on March 10, the organizers of the music contest demanded that “Stephane and 3G” (the group that was going to represent Georgia in the contest) change the lyrics of the song We Dont Wanna Put In, in which a reference to Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin could be seen, by March 16, or choose another song to perform at Eurovision in Moscow. Otherwise, the European Broadcasting Union threatened Georgia with disqualification for violating the contest rules.
The members of the group openly stated that this composition was a protest against the policy of Russia — the country hosting Eurovision this year — but refused to change anything in their song.
Thus, the Georgian artists wanted to emphasize the political relations between Georgia and Russia, which, according to official Tbilisi, behaved as an aggressor during the August 2008 conflict in South Ossetia.
As a result, yesterday the organizers of the national selection officially announced that the song lyrics would not be changed, and Georgia is withdrawing from Eurovision 2009.
Eurovision 2009 will take place in Moscow thanks to Dima Bilan’s victory in the previous contest in Belgrade. The official opening ceremony will take place on May 9 at 20:00 at University Square on the Sparrow Hills. The contest semifinals will be held on May 12 and 14. The ceremonial closing of Eurovision 2009 will take place on the day of the final, May 16, at the Olympic Sports Complex.
Russia will be represented in this year’s contest by Ukrainian singer Anastasia Prikhodko.