The power of violins and rose petals: The Eurovision Song Contest as an arena of European crisis

Abstract

This paper explores the interconnection between European crises and the Eurovision Song Contest, the largest non-sports-related TV show on earth, which has run as an annual music competition of European countries since 1956. The paper explores the development of the actual show, based on existing audio and video recordings, as well as selected aspects of the respective media coverage. Special focus is paid to the creation of the contest in a post-catastrophic Europe, specifically the first show in Lugano in 1956; the apparent decline of the show’s appeal in Western Europe in the 1980s and 1990s; and finally the contest held in Moscow in 2009, when the global financial crisis had just reached Europe. This research shows that ‘crisis’ is less an objective state, but rather a rhetorical strategy to communicate one’s perceptions of the time, illuminating the significance of the Eurovision Song Contest as an arena for European affairs.