Eurovision Continues to Unite the World Through Music

Even after two weeks, followers are still not over the Eurovision Song Contest. Held among European Broadcasting Union member countries (EBU), Eurovision was inspired by the Italian Sanremo Music Festival. The EBU sought to unite countries through music and television, and the number of participants increased over time to become 26.

The contest is a cultural phenomenon. It exceeds that. Eurovision has adapted to the changing landscape of music, media and society, captivating audiences and celebrating cultural diversity.

For contestants, the process starts with national selection shows. These competitions, televised contests, reality TV series or internal selections, are organized to determine each country’s representative act. Now, some countries allow the general public and expert juries to have a say. Others choose to do everything internally, with either a national broadcaster or a special committee responsible.

Germany’s public viewers were a large reason behind Lord of the Lost and their entry into Eurovision. With an overwhelming number of votes, the heavy metal band found themselves with the opportunity to expose a global audience to the genre. Chris Harms, the group’s frontman and singer said the message behind their song choice was quite simple: “Lyric-wise, it all comes down to this one line – ‘we’re all of the same blood'”. With that line in mind, Lord of the Lost’s “Blood & Glitter” made a memorable and glimmering performance.

On the other hand, Lithuania elected a fresh voice. Monika Linkytė started singing at a young age, growing into an up-and-coming talent in indie and electronic pop. Looking back on her experiences in Eurovision, competing in 2007 and 2010, and later qualifying in 2015. Linkytė paid homage to her home country, incorporating Lithuanian colors in her performance. As for the song, the singer-songwriter chose “Stay” and its theme of healing and learning about oneself: “To stay with yourself and when we’re connected with ourselves, then we can be connected with the whole world, and that’s part of the healing.”

Now, Eurovision has never been political. All the acts are as unserious as they can get, from wild headpieces to colorful costumes. The EBU believes that denying any kind of political reference is integral to the event, allowing it and viewers to wholly celebrate musical and cultural diversity.

The Eurovision Song Contest is an international entertainment show, and governed by strict rules and principles which have been established since its creation. As part of these, one of the cornerstones of the Contest is the non-political nature of the event.

– European Broadcasting Union (EBU)

The contest’s original host, Ukraine, was unable to organize this year. The country is currently at war with Russia, after the latter attempted to invade Kyiv a little more than a year ago. The United Kingdom has stepped up to host in its place with Liverpool as the designated city.

Eurovision has always highlighted a sense of solidarity, choosing “united by music” for this year’s theme. But with that being said, there is always the potential for things to get political. Ukraine’s role as host inextricably ties the event to the current context; it brings up conversations on war, power and alliances.

The country, along with its representing act Tvorchi, brought a message of hope and resilience. The electronic duo (Jeffrey Kenny and Andrii Hutsuliak) selected “Heart of Steel” and shared that they were working with UNITED24 as a part of their Eurovision campaign, raising money for Ukrainian children.

In place of Ukraine, Liverpool embraced Ukrainian culture and food to the fullest, creating a space for people to enjoy the performances. And viewers did just that, diverse as the musicians they were watching.

Tuning in worldwide, audiences got to witness Sweden announced as this year’s winner with Loreen’s performance of “Tattoo.” Early on, it became known that the country was a fan favorite. This comes as no surprise considering the singer-songwriter’s impressive musical history, including winning the contest back in 2012.

[Eurovision] is so much bigger now and I’m so happy about it. I love this community. It has such beautiful values—my values, our values…I’m going to celebrate with a glass of wine, a lot of hugs, a lot of kisses, a lot of love.

– Loreen

Solidarity, acceptance and embrace are the most notable values of music. Sometimes those qualities can align or parallel with more political causes; that is also a part of its potential. There is merit behind the Eurovision Song Contest and its insistence on remaining neutral. Celebration of music and emphasis on diversity are uplifting messages alone, and the event became a place to focus on the good and escape momentarily. All performances are now on YouTube, where followers can relive performances from participating countries and maybe even pick their own favorites.