Ukraine debuted in the Eurovision Song Contest 2003 with the song "Hasta la vista" written by Svika Pick and Mirit Shem-Or. The song was performed by Oleksandr Ponomaryov, who was internally selected in February 2003 by the Ukrainian broadcaster National Television Company of Ukraine (NTU) to represent Ukraine at the 2003 contest in Riga, Latvia. The song, "Hasta la vista", was presented to the public on 21 March 2003.

The Eurovision Song Contest 2003 was the 48th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Riga, Latvia, following the country's victory at the 2002 contest with the song "I Wanna" by Marie N. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Latvijas Televīzija (LTV), the contest was held at the Skonto Hall on 24 May 2003. The contest was presented by last year's winner Marie N and former contestant Renārs Kaupers.