Many believed Ukraine’s song “Stefania,” performed by the Kalush Orchestra, would win the competition going into the 2022 Eurovision final. The song’s inspiration came from Ukrainian tradition, as did the outfits worn by the performers. Ukraine was declared the winner of the competition, which was especially heart-warming considering that the war-torn nation was still defending itself from Russian invasion.
Some individuals were resentful of the fact that geopolitical events could have any bearing on the outcome of the song contest. However, it is rather naïve and unrealistic to assume that a massive competition in which nations are made to vote for one another can have no underlying political powerplay. While it is true that the contest’s non-political objective is one of its stated goals, this is far from the case in practice. The political nature of Eurovision has existed from its inception.
We have witnessed political messages being conveyed through the songs and performances every year on the Eurovision stage. West Germany’s contestant in the inaugural Eurovision, held in 1956, was a Jew. This was a clear indication from West Germany that it was moving away from its Nazi past. In 1993, Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as Croatia made their debuts in the Eurovision Song Contest as independent nations, performing songs with war-related themes.
Armenia sent a song in 2015 that was originally called “Don’t Deny”, but was then renamed “Face the Shadow.” Despite not explicitly mentioning it, it was quite obviously about the 1915 Armenian Genocide.
“Mercy,” France’s submission for 2018, addressed the immigration situation. It told the story of a rescue ship transporting African refugees to safety in the Mediterranean, and a baby being delivered on the ship.
Eurovision has served as a symbol for UK-EU relations throughout the years. The UK finished last in the song contest in 2019, the year that Brexit was officially finalised. One may argue that this was Europe’s way of showing discontent with the UK’s choice to leave.
Even the case of who is allowed to join the Eurovision, and who chooses not to do so, reveals geopolitical dynamics. Due to a Lebanese rule that forbade television stations from airing Israeli content, Lebanon withdrew from the competition in 2005. Georgia’s disco-funk entry “We Don’t Wanna Put In,” which was an obvious jab at President Putin, was rejected from the Moscow 2009 competition because the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) decided that the lyrics were too political. However, to Russia’s dismay, Ukraine won in 2016 with a song that made reference to Joseph Stalin’s deportation of Crimean Tatars in 1944. And of course, following their invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russia was completely banned from participating. For a competition that professes to be apolitical, this was a very clear political message.
The winner is chosen by a combination of a panel of music industry professionals and viewer televoting. Each country can vote for other countries that they want to win, but they cannot vote for their own. Over here, geopolitics continues to have a big impact on the outcomes. For instance, Balkan or Scandinavian nations frequently vote for one another. From 1997 through 2014, whenever possible, Greece and Cyprus gave each other the maximum of 12 points. This begs the question of whether the competition is more about politics than it is about music.
The expert panel should, in principle, balance this out, and it appears that this does do so to some extent. The televoting mechanism, however, continues to play a significant role in selecting the winner each year. And as voting trends have shown year after year, countries enjoy voting for their neighbours and allies.
Despite its claim to be a non-political event, the Eurovision Song Contest has always had political overtones throughout its existence. The competition has served as a forum for nations to express political messages through their songs and performances, starting with West Germany’s decision to send a Jewish representative as a way to distance itself from its Nazi past, to more recent entries that address issues like war, immigration, and historical events. Additionally, voting trends and international alliances further emphasize how geopolitics affects the result. Since politics have always been woven into the fabric of the Eurovision Song Contest and continue to be a key component of its attraction as an event, it is unrealistic to demand their full separation.
This article was written by an independent writer whose views are not associated with The Third Eye. The Third Eye strives to be the student’s voice, and that entails giving them a platform to voice their opinions.