Sergey Lazarev is representing Russia at the Eurovision song-contest final this Saturday.
JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
The theatre of European politics is already boisterous, colourful and comical enough as it is. Just imagine if it were musical theatre too.
That's part of the appeal of Eurovision. This Saturday, competitors will be be belting their hearts out in Stockholm at the 61st instalment of the annual song contest. Despite the organizers' efforts to keep it an apolitical spectacle, national rivalries have already been dividing fans and performers on issues both serious and silly. Here's a look at some of the highlights, and a brief primer on how the competition works and how to watch it in Canada.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
DO BRITONS WANT TO LEAVE EUROVISION TOO?
Britons are only weeks away from a June 23 referendum on whether to leave the European Union. Britain doesn't have to stay in the EU to compete at Eurovision, however; Israel has been a regular since 1973, and Australia is competing this year after being invited as a special guest last year. Nevertheless, a few British commentators have raised the idea of a Eurovision exit in the context of the current referendum, though sometimes in a clearly tongue-and-cheek way.
British Prime Minister David Cameron touched on the subject last month in one of his weekly Q&As with members of Parliament. Asked about the worst argument he had heard in the referendum discussion, he said it was the Eurovision issue, adding that Britain's status in the contest would be secure regardless of the Brexit vote and that leaving Eurovision would be a "very sad" outcome. Britons might not agree with him on that last point; in a YouGov poll earlier this month, a majority of British respondents said that, if a referendum were held on leaving Eurovision, they would vote yes.
Britain has not won Eurovision since 1997. "My fear is on Saturday night when the U.K. gets another kicking, it's going to be 'You see? Everyone in Europe hates us,'" British author John Kennedy O'Connor, who wrote Eurovision's official history, told Associated Press recently. "We hear that every year. They don't ever say, 'Actually, you know what? We sent another rotten song.'"
If Britain did leave, it would be a big deal indeed for the song contest: Britain is one of the five major sponsoring countries – along with Germany, Italy, France and Spain – who are guaranteed spots in every Eurovision final. (This year, Britain will be represented at Eurovision by pop duo Joe and Jake.)
ARE THE SONGS TOO ENGLISH?
For such a multinational competition, Eurovision has a very English flavour. The broadcast is traditionally done in English (though the point scores are read in French; expect a lot of announcers excitedly yelling " douze points!") and, historically, about half of all winning songs have had English-language lyrics.
Eurovision language politics have been especially contentious this year in Spain, whose entry, Say Yay!, is the country's first to be entirely in English.
Dario Villanueva, director of the Royal Spanish Academy, said the decision shows an "inferiority complex" on the part of Spain, The New York Times reported. Other past competitors from Spain – which has not won at Eurovision since 1969 – were more supportive, saying English is a "world language" that would help Spain to innovate and improve its chances of a global pop hit.
Non-English music is at a record low at this year's competition – only three of 43 entries have no English at all. There are also two languages appearing for the first time at the contest: Pontic Greek, which is mixed with English on Greece's Utopian Land …
… and the Crimean Tatar language, included among the English lyrics of Ukraine's 1944.
WILL RUSSIA BE BOOED AGAIN?
Eurovision is a fan favourite for LGBT audiences around the world, and booing Russia – whose legislation against gay "propaganda" in 2013 has worsened its already poor human-rights reputation – is a popular pastime. Last year the organizers even brought in anti-booing sound equipment after the previous year's loud jeering of the Tolmachevy sisters, whose homeland had only recently annexed Crimea and made clandestine military incursions into eastern Ukraine.
The Ukrainians skipped Eurovision last year, but now they're back with a pretty unsubtle jab at Moscow: A song about the Soviet Union's deportation of Crimean Tatars during the Second World War.
The lyrics don't mention Russian President Vladimir Putin or Crimea's current situation, and the singer, Jamala – who is of Crimean Tatar descent – denies that it's a political song: "For me personally, music is about feelings. Politics doesn't have feelings," she told Associated Press. Eurovision organizers have said it passes the contest's rules about political speech.
Moscow, and even Mr. Putin himself, have reportedly taken a keen interest in winning the song contest over the years. This year, they've pulled out all the stops for singer Sergey Lazarev's performances of You Are the Only One, which bookkeepers are favouring to win.
WHICH FLAGS WILL FANS DARE TO WAVE?
The contest's rules about political speech apply to the contestants' and fans' choice in flags too. The guidelines restrict flag-waving to the banners of UN member states, as well as the EU flag and the LGBT pride flag – as long as the flag-waving isn't deemed too political. (Rainbow flags were waved vigorously during Russia's performance last year.)
The contest organizers have been under fire for their flag policy after an accidentally published internal document put Palestinian, Kosovar and Basque flags on the prohibited list alongside Islamic State's flag. The organizers relaxed the policy to allow regional flags like that of Wales (U.K. contestant Joe Woolford is Welsh) and the indigenous Sami people (Norway's Agnete Johnsen is of Sami descent).
Contestants can still run afoul of the relaxed rules, though. Armenian singer Iveta Mukuchyan got her delegation in trouble at Tuesday's semifinal for waving the flag of Nagorno-Karabakh, a region disputed between Armenia and neighbouring Azerbaijan. Ms. Mukuchyan will be at Saturday's final with the song LoveWave.
HOW DO I WATCH EUROVISION?
Who competes? Forty-three countries entered this year's competition. Only 26 will be at this Saturday's final.
What do these songs sound like? You can listen to them all here. One of the artists that didn't make it to the final is a native of Surrey, B.C.: Canadian-Swiss artist Rykka was representing Switzerland, following in the footsteps of another Canadian who competed for the Swiss: Céline Dion, who won the contest in 1988.
Who decides who wins? Viewers in the participating countries vote on their favourites online or by phone. Each country also has its own professional jury that grades the competing songs. In past years, the televoting and jury results would be combined to produce final scores, but this year they each award their own points separately. Here's Eurovision's explanation of how the new voting works:
Can I watch it in Canada? Yes, Canadians can stream it on the Eurovision website. It starts at 3 p.m. (ET).
With reports from Associated Press and The New York Times
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