Only a handful of things truly bind Europe’s disparate nations to one another. For one cultural touchstone, consider the annual Eurovision Song Contest. With unapologetically flamboyant silliness, flame-throwing dance routines and an embrace of tolerance and multiculturalism, the campy spectacle is seen as a rare -- and ridiculous -- uniting force for Europeans. Now the event famous for introducing the world to ABBA’s bell-bottoms has been drawn into the politics surrounding Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Always contentious and often highly political, Eurovision was hatched in 1956 to foster unity in the wake of World War II. About 40 countries compete every year for the best original song from a professional or a rising star, with the winner crowned in May during an annual TV extravaganza. Votes are tallied from a panel of judges and the viewing public also weighs in via phone, text, and Eurovision’s app. (Online betting markets offer a place to wager on who will win.) The show is put on by the European Broadcasting Union, or EBU, an alliance of public broadcasters that includes affiliates in the Middle East and North Africa. Countries such as Israel and Azerbaijan compete, and Australia has joined in recent years because of its large fan base.
2. What does this have to do with Ukraine?
The 2022 contest -- watched by 161 million viewers -- was won by Ukraine’s Kalush Orchestra, a rap-folk band that bagged the most public votes in the history of the competition. Viewers cannot vote for their home nation, evening the playing field between large and smaller countries. Meanwhile, each country’s panel of music professionals awards points, often revealing informal alliances. The winning nation gets to host the spectacle the following year, though the EBU concluded that for “safety and security reasons” Ukraine wasn’t viable for 2023. So it asked the runner-up, the UK, to step in. Britain has been a leading supplier of arms to Ukraine since the Russian invasion in February 2022.
3. What does it tell us about Europe?
Eurovision is often an indicator of the wider public mood. While the show is self-described as “non-political,” with acts effectively barred from promoting their views on stage, that doesn’t stop politics from seeping into the contest every year. In 2016, Russia complained about Ukraine’s entry, which featured lyrics about the deportation of the Crimean Tatars by Stalin in 1944. But the song was allowed because it didn’t reflect current events in the peninsula, which was seized by Russia in 2014. (Russia was banned from competing in 2022). Acts often celebrate national folk traditions or instruments, and while many sing in English, some use local languages or even regional dialects. Over the last decade, many countries have made a show of championing LGBTQ performers, including the 2014 winner, an Austrian bearded diva known as Conchita Wurst. Icelandic act Hatari stoked controversy during the 2019 final for waving the Palestinian flag during the final, which aired live from Israel -- and featured Madonna in a guest performance.
4. What does it mean to win?
As the ABBA song goes, the winner takes it all. While there’s no prize money, the winners instantly join the ranks of pop royalty: Celine Dion (who is, yes, Canadian) won on Switzerland’s behalf in 1988, and ABBA famously won for Sweden in 1974 with “Waterloo.” Tears often overcome the suddenly famous winners as they’re crowned -- the lead singer of Italy’s victorious glam band Maneskin split his pants with enthusiasm in 2021. The event was parodied in the 2020 movie “Eurovision: The Story of Fire Saga” starring Will Ferrell, in which an unlikely Icelandic duo rocket to contest stardom. Research published in 2018 from professors at the University of Central Florida examined the contest’s voting bias, showing that informal, often geographic, alliances within Europe decide the bulk of the voting. Norway will typically assign Sweden its highest score, Greece votes for Cyprus, and few juries tend to score the UK highly.
5. What does the host country get?
In recent years, hosting the competition has generated tourism income, which helps to offset the costs for the chosen city. In 2016, NatWest Chief Economist Stephen Boyle said in a blog that Sweden spent £17 million ($19.7 million) preparing Malmo to host, which was almost immediately offset by the £16 million tourism bonanza. However not every country takes up the opportunity. In 1980, Israel was due to host but declined because it would have been its second consecutive year of staging the event. Micro-state Monaco didn’t have the resources to host in 1972, so it went to Edinburgh. Ukraine has won three times. After victories in 2004 and 2016, Kyiv successfully hosted the following year’s finals.
6. How is the UK gearing up for 2023?
Anticipation was hot in the seven UK cities shortlisted for the honor: Birmingham, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield. London is notably absent as the BBC jibes with the government’s efforts to “level up” the regions outside of the capital. Some were betting on Glasgow, a hotbed of Scotland’s political efforts to break away from the UK and become Europe’s newest nation state. Aside from its physical location, the contest is aiming to reach new audiences and younger viewers. More than 3 million tuned in to the contest on TikTok in 2022.
7. What are some memorable moments?
It’s hard to know where to begin. Let’s start with the all-singing, all-dancing Russian grannies -- a folk group of eight babushkas from the remote village of Buranovo that that made headlines after placing second in 2012. Norwegian duo Subwoolfer turned heads in 2022 with yellow wolf masks and a thumping techno entry “Give That Wolf a Banana.” Oh, and who could forget when Ireland entered a turkey into the competition in 2008? The singing poultry puppet didn’t make it past the semi-finals.
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