How Eurovision’s Silly Songfest got caught up in the war in Ukraine
Always controversial and often highly political, Eurovision was born in 1956 to foster unity in the aftermath of World War II. About 40 countries compete each year for the best original song by a professional or rising star, with the winner being crowned in May at an annual TV show. Votes are counted from a panel of judges and the viewing public also weighs in by phone, text and the Eurovision app. (Online betting markets provide a place to bet on who will win.) The show is presented by the European Broadcasting Union, or EBU, an alliance of public broadcasters that includes affiliates in the Middle East and South Africa. North. Countries like Israel and Azerbaijan compete, and Australia has joined in recent years due to 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 won the most public votes in the contest’s history. Viewers cannot vote for their country of origin, leveling the playing field between large and small countries. Meanwhile, each country’s panel of music professionals awards points, often revealing informal alliances. The winning nation can host the show the following year, although the EBU concluded that for “safety and security reasons” Ukraine was not viable for 2023. So it asked the runner-up, the United Kingdom, to intervene. Britain has been a major arms supplier to Ukraine since the Russian invasion in February 2022.
3. What does it tell us about Europe?
Eurovision is often an indicator of the mood of the public at large. Although the show describes itself as “non-political”, with acts effectively prohibited 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 Stalin’s 1944 deportation of Crimean Tatars. But the song was allowed because it didn’t reflect the news of the peninsula, which was seized by Russia in 2014. (Russia was banned from competition 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 past decade, many countries have promoted LGBTQ artists, including the 2014 winner, a bearded diva from Austria known as Conchita Wurst. Icelandic actor Hatari fueled controversy in the 2019 final for waving the Palestinian flag in the final, which was broadcast live from Israel – and featured Madonna in a guest performance.
4. What does winning mean?
As the ABBA song says, winner takes all. Although there is no cash prize, the winners instantly join the ranks of pop royalty: Celine Dion (who is, yes, Canadian) won on behalf of Switzerland in 1988, and ABBA won for Sweden in 1974 with “Waterloo”. Tears often overwhelm suddenly famous winners when they are crowned – lead singer of victorious Italian glam band Maneskin enthusiastically split his pants in 2021. The event was parodied in the 2020 film ‘Eurovision: The Story of saga of fire” with Will Ferrell, in which an unlikely Icelandic duo embarks on the race for stardom. Research published in 2018 by professors at the University of Central Florida examined the contest’s voting bias, showing that informal, often geographic alliances in Europe decide much of the voting. Norway usually gives Sweden its highest score, Greece votes for Cyprus and few juries tend to give the UK a high score.
5. What does the host country get?
In recent years, hosting the competition has generated tourism revenue, helping to offset the costs to the chosen city. In 2016, NatWest chief economist Stephen Boyle said in a blog that Sweden had spent £17 million ($19.7 million) preparing Malmö to host, which was almost immediately compensated by the tourist windfall of 16 million pounds sterling. However, not all countries are seizing the opportunity. In 1980, Israel was to host but declined as it would have been its second consecutive year of hosting the event. Microstate Monaco did not have the resources to host in 1972, so it went to Edinburgh. Ukraine have won three times. After victories in 2004 and 2016, Kyiv successfully hosted the finals the following year.
6. How is the UK preparing for 2023?
The expectation was hot in the seven British cities shortlisted for this honor: Birmingham, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield. London is notably absent as the BBC agrees with government efforts to ‘level up’ regions outside the capital. Some were betting on Glasgow, a focus of Scotland’s political efforts to break away from the UK and become Europe’s newest nation state. Besides its physical location, the competition aims to reach new audiences and younger viewers. Over 3 million people followed the contest on TikTok in 2022.
7. What are the memorable moments?
It’s hard to know where to start. Let’s start with Russian Grannies Who Sing and Dance – a folk group of eight babushkas from the remote village of Buranovo that made headlines after coming second in 2012. Norwegian duo Subwoofer turned heads in 2022 with yellow wolf masks and a punchy techno entry “Give That Wolf a Banana”. Oh, and who could forget when Ireland entered a turkey into the competition in 2008? The singing fowl puppet didn’t make it past the semis.
More stories like this are available at bloomberg.com