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Eurovision: From Song Contest to Political Battleground

At the 2019 contest, identity politics stole the show.

The Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) is the world’s largest televised cultural event, sporting more than 200 million viewers worldwide. It was first created in 1956 with the purpose of promoting unity and harmony in Europe. In 2019, the ESC became a political battleground displaying the great divide between the people and the elite, as well as growing negative sentiments toward Israel – the host of this year’s event.

Madonna

Palestine

This time, Madonna was invited to sing during the voting break. Israel may have thought of her as a safe choice because she is a long-time self-described friend of the country. However, one of her dancers was wearing a Palestinian flag during the performance, embarrassing the host with a political protest in violation of the rules. Since Madonna was not one of the contestants, no actions were taken against her.

Iceland was not so lucky. During the vote tally, the Icelandic contestants flashed a Palestinian flag to the camera, and they will likely be fined.

Identity Politics

Much of the politics of the evening were far more subtle than this. The voting process became a mirror image of the European Union; elitism versus the populism of the people. In the ESC, every participant country can vote for its favorite act. Each nation gets the same influence on the results. The vote is split into two equal parts: one people’s vote contribution and one professional jury evaluation. Or the people and the elites have the same power, if you like.

Typically, there is a significant distinction between how the professional jury and the people vote, but this year, the difference was extreme. Sweden was one of the top jury picks (293 points), but the people’s reaction was lackluster (93). Norway got only 47 points from the juries but won the popular vote with 291.

What was the difference? Norway’s Keiino celebrated one of the indigenous people of Europe, the Sami. Their catchy pop song with an ethnic element made them the people’s choice.

Sweden did the opposite and sent as their contestant John Lundvik, who is of African descent but was adopted by a Swedish couple at a young age. Europeans have no problem with people of minority races participating in the ESC. Italy, for instance, sent a participant of Arab descent called Mahmood, and he became popular with both the juries and the people.

John Lundvik and delegation of Sweden

However, Lundvik made a choice that may have angered Europeans. He had four backing vocals on stage with him, and they, too, were all black. In one of the whitest, blondest countries in the world, Lundvik carefully chose his backing vocals purely based on race. The implicit message in his selection was loud and clear: No ethnic Swedes allowed.

In a time when most Europeans are worried about mass immigration and have growing concerns about being replaced and turned into minorities in their ancestral homelands, the people apparently gave a lackluster response. One indicator of this is that the television viewers in Sweden fell, despite their act being one of the favorites for the title. By contrast, the Netherlands and Australia experienced a surge in viewers after becoming some of the favorites to win.

Miniature E.U.

As such, something as innocent as a song contest came to mirror the ongoing battle in the E.U. between the globalist elites, and the people who want to secure their own cultural heritage. Europe is a tolerant place, and if the elites want to keep it that way, maybe it is time for them to start listening to the concerns of the people.

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