We are Song Contest
| 21. Mai 2014Dean Vuletic from the Department of East European History was there – at the big night in Copenhagen. In his current Marie Curie project he investigates the history and the politics of the Song Contest over the recent years. In uni:view he writes about his impressions in Copenhagen.
Welcome to the world’s happiest country! Danes are often ranked in international surveys as the world’s happiest people, and signs like this await the visitor to Denmark. I was not totally convinced by the combination of bike paths and Coca-Cola, but this is a good example of the concept of "nation-branding", which my research also looks at through the Eurovision Song Contest.
An aim of nation-branding is to attract commercial interest in a country, including tourism, and Eurovision is a drawing card for visitors. A major tourist attraction in Copenhagen is this statue of "The Little Mermaid", based on the fairytale by one of the world’s most famous Danes, Hans Christian Andersen. In the background is the site of this year's Eurovision, the former shipyard B&W Hallerne, branded with the contest’s slogan "#JoinUs."
In Copenhagen’s city centre there were other attractions for locals and tourists who wanted to participate in the Eurovision festivities. These included the "Eurovision Fan Mile" and "Eurovision Village," which provided entertainment programmes and public screenings. There was also a "Pride Square" which highlighted Denmark’s openness towards sexual minorities and the particular popularity of Eurovision among the gay community.
The official opening ceremony of Eurovision traditionally includes a red carpet on which the contestants show off their outfits and pose for the media. This year it also featured a political dimension, as the contest was held against the background of the Ukraine crisis. Here the Ukrainian contestant Mariya Yaremchuk is wearing a black outfit and a Ukrainian flag ribbon to commemorate the victims of fighting in her country.
The Polish group Donatan & Cleo attracted considerable media attention because of the sexual references in their song "We are Slavic." The video for it was first released in November 2013 and was an international hit on YouTube. The song challenges stereotypes of Poles and East Europeans as backward and conservative, and its political significance was magnified in the context of the tenth anniversary of Poland’s entry into the European Union.
Fans enter the B&W Hallerne for the second semi-final, in which Israel participated. To compete in Eurovision, a country must be a member of the contest’s organiser, the European Broadcasting Union, which has members that are geographically outside of Europe. The European Broadcasting Union covers a region that is technically defined by the International Telecommunication Union and includes countries of Europe and the Mediterranean basin.
Fans await the results of the second semi-final. The semi-finals were introduced in 2004 due to an increasing number of countries participating in Eurovision. However, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom are guaranteed a place in the final as the biggest financial contributors to the Eurovision Broadcasting Union. This "Big Five" system has been criticized by Turkey, which has for the last two years not competed in Eurovision as a result.
The Greek group Freaky Fortune featuring RiskyKidd performs the song "Rise Up" in the second semi-final. A small protest outside of the B&W Hallerne criticised the company that organised Greece’s entry for not paying laid-off workers. The economic crisis in Europe has affected the participation of several countries, which have had to reduce their budgets for Eurovision, seek alternative sponsors or even temporarily withdraw.
Watching the Russian duo the Tolmachevy Sisters perform their song "Shine" in the final. Russia was booed by the audience in the arena every time that it was awarded points in the voting results. This anti-Russian sentiment reflected criticism across Europe against Russia’s involvement in the Ukraine crisis, as well as its adoption of a law in 2013 that bans the promotion of homosexuality.
Austria’s contestant Conchita Wurst appears at the winner’s press conference after her victory with the song "Rise Like a Phoenix." Although the bearded drag queen attracted anti-gay criticism, her convincing victory showed that much of Europe also rallied around her as a symbol of diversity and tolerance. As the winning country, Austria has earned the right to host Eurovision in 2015. (Text and Photos: Dean Vuletic)
Dr. Dean Vuletic is currently Marie Curie Fellow at the Department of East European History, Faculty of Historical and Cultural Studies, University of Vienna.