by AJ Brooks
The Eurovision Song Contest is an event in Europe that brings together European countries (and Australia) every year since 1956. There are some rules: all entries must be original songs under 3 minutes, no swearing, and if you broadcast any of it, you have to broadcast all of it. After Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, some countries decided that if Russia was going to be in the contest, they would pull out of the competition. The European Broadcasting Union decided it was not worth it to let Russia participate in Eurovision and lose multiple other countries. This also means that Russia will not be broadcasting Eurovision. Ukraine had decided on their song and artist for Eurovision, via a contest within Ukraine, when Russia invaded. Since the invasion occurred, they have decided to send the group that got second in the contest, because the person who won first place decided not to go to Eurovision because she was under investigation for a suspicious trip to Crimea in 2015.
While writing this article I spoke to Harwood’s resident Eurovision expert, Mr. Quigley. He is teaching a class about Europe and Eurovision next year at Harwood. I asked him why he thought Ukraine has decided to stay in Eurovision even though they are in the middle of an invasion. He said, “what I find fascinating is that Eurovision isn't just like American Idol or something like that, we’re not so much interested in the stories of the singers, but the stories of the countries, and for Ukraine, it’s important because Russia at the moment is basically saying Ukraine should not exist as an entity and so for Ukraine to participate in Eurovision, it’s kind of them saying ‘We’re here, we are on the global stage, and we want to be represented.’ So I think it almost becomes more crucial at a time like this.”
The members of Kalush Orchestra (the group going to Eurovision to represent Ukraine) are currently on the front lines fighting back against the invasion, so I asked Mr. Quigley what he thought would happen if they were still fighting when Eurovision comes around in May. No one really knows at this point, but Mr. Quigley thinks that “what they might allow them to do if they are still fighting is to use the videotape of their national final performance, so during the competition, they would just announce Ukraine and they would just play it. It’s not the same, but at least they would still be represented.”
I also asked him if he thought that Russia would be invited back to Eurovision in the near future, and he said, “I hope so, but, will they come back? Possibly not for a long time. I didn’t want them to be kicked out, and the main reason was, in Russia, the media is basically controlled by Putin, but for one time every year in Russia - and in certain other countries that have more repressive governments - for once a year you get this evening where you get to see kind of this different world, whether it’s queer culture or people of color, and my concern is you’ve got people in various parts of Russia who are even more cut off. That for me is heartbreaking. I would love to see Russia back, but I don’t think it’s going to happen for a while. Certainly not with the current leadership. I think ultimately it was the right decision to kick them out… but it's the same with the whole thing, is that the biggest tragedy is for the Russian people. They’re the ones who are going to suffer.”
Pictured above: Kalush Orchestra, the band that will be going to Eurovision to represent Ukraine
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