Legend has it that the annual Eurovision extravaganza was founded to promote peace and unity in a continent still recovering from the shadow of war. Sadly, the truth is a lot more mundane than this utopian vision. According to reputable sources, it was created in 1956 to test the limits of broadcast television.
Never mind. Since its inception, the Eurovision has always been about more than how much noise, light and glitter our TV screens can handle. Although using the Eurovision to promote a political agenda is strictly forbidden, many contestants still seize the opportunity to address social issues. Here are 6 times Europe’s musical contest was about more far more than just music:
1974
Swedish pop band Abba may have started their careers with their Eurovision victory for the song ‘Waterloo’ in 1974, but the year's real hero turned out to be the Portuguese entry Paulo de Carvalho.
Less than a month after the contest, as the left-leaning military in Portugal plotted to overthrow Portugal's dictatorial regime, the Generals decided to broadcast a coded signal over the the radio to indicate the start of the uprising. That signal was Paulo de Carvalho's Eurovision song "And After The Goodbye," which triggered Portugal’s Carnation Revolution and subsequent transition to a democratic state.
So, while many Eurovision results have sparked shouts in protest from behind the screen, this remains the only song to have actually started a revolution.
1978
While it may be called Euro-vision the contest is not strictly limited to countries within Europe’s geographic borders. Countries who are members of the European Broadcasting Union (most people haven’t heard of this either) are eligible to enter. This includes several Middle Eastern nations. In 1978, during a period of high tension between Israel and its neighbours, Jordan decided to block the broadcast of Israel’s entry "Abanibi" by Izhar Cohen. Viewers in Jordan were instead greeted with random pictures of flowers on their TV screen.
However, as fate would have it, Israel ended up winning that year's contest, prompting Jordanian broadcasters to simply cut the transmission right before the end of the show. Later, Jordanian media simply announced that runners-up Belgium had come first (yes, you could pull that kind of stunt pre-Internet).
1981
In 1981, at the beginning of Ronald Reagan's presidency, Luxembourg's entry was a song in French called "Maybe It Isn't America (Because America Isn't the Be-All)", performed by Jean-Claude Pascal and clearly lashing out at a Reagan-era USA. However, the tune didn't dazzle the juries, only finishing in 11th place.
2009
In 2009, Dutch semi-finalists The Toppers threatened to pull out of the contest in Moscow if Russian authorities cracked down on a Gay Pride march scheduled in the city that weekend.
The march was forbidden by city authorities, but protesters defied the prohibition and took to the streets to highlight Moscow’s poor record on gay rights in advance of the contest. The police broke up the march and 40 activists were arrested, including human rights campaigners Nikolai Alexejew and Peter Tatchell - a repressive response that cast a shadow on a contest with a large LGBT audience.
2013
The Toppers are not the only act to have used the Eurovision as a platform to promote gay rights. Finland’s contestant Krista Siegfrids made a plea for legalizing same-sex marriage by wearing a wedding dress and kissing one of her female dancers on stage during her upbeat anthem “Marry Me.”
Despite the victory of Conchita Wurst last year, Eurovision still has some way to go on LGBT rights. This year, the Eurovision Committee has warned fans not to raise their rainbow flags in a ‘political’ manner during Russia’s performance - an ambiguous decision that may prove difficult to enforce…
2016
This year, it has been reported that the Eurovision will draw attention to the refugee crisis with a special dance performance. With this year's contest taking place in Sweden, the theme has raised questions about the Scandivanian nation's recent shift in its refugee policy - last year’s winner Måns Zelmerlöw has openly criticised his country for its decision to close its borders. It's rare for the Eurovision to include a clearly political moment in the programme but as a global challenge, the refugee crisis is impossible to ignore. Petra Mede, co-presenter of the contest, has said: “Everyone knows that it is a very tough situation in Europe right now. We already know now that there’s going to be a dance number where this will be expressed with dancers. We want to give a picture of what’s going on, but there will also be a feeling of hope.”
In a year when headlines have been dominated by stories of division within Europe, the Eurovision is a chance to celebrate what brings all these disparate nations together. This year’s show which will no doubt be full of surprises, whether they be political statements, on-stage disasters or breathtakingly good or bad performances. Whether the contestants achieve successful levels of vocal harmony, let’s hope the Eurovision lives up to its legendary spirit of unity and hope.