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Articles on Eurovision

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Iron Maiden at Ottawa Bluesfest in 2012. ceedub13/flickr

Ten ways the UK could ensure a Eurovision triumph

For many years now the UK has been a Eurovision laughing stock, despite a wealth of pop talent. What about if it was to pick one of these sure-fire rockstar winners instead?
Donald Trump in Scotland – musicians have asked that he refrain from using their songs at his political events. David Moir/Reuters

Long before Trump rolled in the deep, music and politics were entwined

The golden days of the 1960s protest song may be past, but music is still used across the world as a vehicle to voice political views. More than a sideshow, it can be a form of mobilisation and an expression of ‘soft power’.
Ukraine’s Jamala reacts to winning the Eurovision Song Contest with the song 1944. TT News Agency

Along with soulful gazes and key changes, politics is never far from Eurovision

This year’s Eurovision had it all: geopolitical debates, a boycott threat, great music and a cracking Australian entry. Russia is outraged by Jamala’s winning song about the deportation of Crimean Tartars - but the contest has always had political nuances.
Joerg Cartstensen/EPA

Would you vote for a Eurovision Brexit?

Leave had a 20 point lead over Remain in a recent YouGov poll – but this Brexit referendum concerned Britain’s membership of the Eurovision Song Contest, not Europe.
Australia’s 2016 Eurovision contestant Dami Im performing with Conchita and Guy Sebastian in Sydney earlier this year. SBS

How ‘Asiavision’ could be a boon for cultural diplomacy

Australia has struggled to forge cultural ties with the Asia-Pacific region. But SBS’s deal to develop an Asian Eurovision could change this - there is more to the event than music, costume reveals and wind machines.
Not all eyes are on the prize: Eurovision is often as much about undeclared alliances, voting blocs and political paybacks. Andres Putting (EBU)/Eurovision

Glitz meets politics: an Australian viewer’s guide to Eurovision voting

For the first time, Australians can vote for this year’s Eurovision winner. But it’s as much a political battlefield as a song contest – so hopefully the Russians have forgotten the “shirtfront”.
Description: 2014 Eurovision Song Contest winner Conchita Wurst poses for a photograph in Sydney, Thursday, April 30, 2015. The Austrian performer and pop artist is in Australia to perform at the Logie Awards. () NO ARCHIVING. AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts

A song to unite? The gender politics of Eurovision still divide

Eurovision is popularly heralded as the song that unites Europe, but recent controversies about gender, social justice and human rights paint a different picture.
SBS’s support for Eurovision has been rewarded with our inclusion this year in the contest. EPA/ Joerg Carstensen

Australia is in the Eurovision – please adjust your maps

Yesterday, it was announced that for the first time, Australia would be given a competitive place in the Eurovision Song Contest. Not only this, but Australians can also vote (and let’s not overlook the…
Wurst embraces a wide spectrum of individuals who recognise their own gender performance as imperfect. Georg Hochmuth/EPA

Conchita Wurst’s Eurovision win and the power of performance

Four songs in to the final of the Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday night, six Icelandic men in a band called Pollapönk took to the stage dressed in fluorescent suits and declared to an ecstatic house…
If the UK’s Molly doesn’t luck out, it’s not due to collusion. EPA/Joerg Carstensen

Hard Evidence: is the UK shunned at Eurovision?

It’s that time of the year again. One of the biggest events in Europe’s (and the world’s) cultural calendar, the Eurovision song contest is legendary. The attention paid to this bizarre show is enormous…
Jessica Mauboy (left) and SBS Eurovision hosts Sam Pang and Julia Zemiro. AAP Image/SBS

Aussie, Aussie, Eurovision, Oi, Oi … Oui?

And so we wait, anxiously, to see Australia at an event that celebrates the rich cultural tapestry that is the panoply of European states. Nah, who am I kidding? We’ve got a guernsey at the Eurovision…

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