How Eurovision’s Silly Songfest Met War in Ukraine

Only a handful of things truly bind Europe’s disparate nations together. The Eurovision Song Contest is one of them. With a global audience bigger than the Oscars, the annual face-off of power ballads and over-the-top dance routines is seen as a rare — and ridiculous — unifying force for the Continent. On the other hand, the spectacle can also illustrate Europe’s divisions. Countries tend to vote for their neighbors, there’s constant debate about what language to sing in, and the 2023 final on Saturday was moved to the UK due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Hatched in 1956 to foster unity in the wake of World War II, Eurovision is an international competition of about 40 countries for the best original song from a professional or a rising star. Each nation spends months selecting its entry, then competes in one of two televised heats to reach the final, held every year in May. In 2022, about 50 million viewers tuned in to Turin, Italy, for the climax. The winner has been decided partly by popular vote and partly by a professional jury. The show is put on by the European Broadcasting Union, or EBU, an alliance of public broadcasters. Because the organization includes affiliates around the world, countries including Israel and Azerbaijan compete, too, as does Australia, which has a big Eurovision fan base.