El Eurovision Song Contest goes far beyond pop and rock. The musical competition between European countries also tends to be a game of geopolitics, alliances and national image.
Russia is the favorite to win the competition this Saturday in Stockholm, Sweden, that has spared no expense to produce a great performance.
But why would a contest in which the romantic ballads abound would be a priority for the government of Vladimir Putin
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7 times won Ireland the most successful country. Followed by Sweden with 6.
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180 million viewers across Europe .
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43 the record of participating countries (2008 and 2011).
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26 times won a song in English. The Frenchman won 14.
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1400 songs have been heard in the 60-year history of the event.
Seven years ago, the executive of the Swedish television Svante Stockselius was in Moscow watching rehearsals for the Eurovision final that year.
it was the first and so far only time held in the Russian capital thanks to Dima Bilan had achieved victory in the previous edition of 2008 in Belgrade with the song “Believe” ( the event is organized by the country that wins the previous year).
“Suddenly, the Russians went crazy and said, ‘Mr Putin, our Prime Minister has arrived,” recalls Stockselius, then supervisor of Eurovision
“ I was surprised how small it was, but I also remember his strength to squeeze my hand . it also was very curious about the details”.
why the most powerful man in Russia Eurovision interested?
Promotion and image
“they said the contest was an event of great importance for the country” says Stockselius.
“And i also wanted to assure himself that it would be a show that would promote Russia, which would show Europe what they can do. E invested a lot of money in that show “recalls.
in 2013, the absolute seriousness of the Kremlin for Eurovision again became apparent.
at the time of the feedback given by each country according to a panel of experts and the public, the singer who represented Azerbaijan, Farid Mammadov, received Russia the maximum 12 points.
But when it was the turn of the vote in Azerbaijan, the Russian Dina Garipova did not receive a single point.
Question of Status
“We stole ten points. Well, not to us but to our representative, “complained three days after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, after a meeting with his Azeri counterpart.
” This does not make anyone happy. Recollect a unified action so that this outrageous action will not go unanswered “.
Believe it or not, Lavrov was talking about a song contest.
what was particularly annoyed the chancellor was the fact that in reality Russia was the second country with more support in the popular vote.
it is not unusual that the panel of experts have a different opinion on a song that you have people who are watching on television. Nor is it unusual that is influenced by political considerations .
So believes Daniel Gould, a British teacher who left his job to devote himself professionally bet on Eurovision. They are the kind of things you should consider when trying to predict the winner.
We stole ten points. We will agree a unified action so that this outrageous action will not go unanswered “
Sergei Lavrov, foreign minister of Russia after the scandal Eurovision 2012 between Russia and Azerbaijan.
But the fights of political inspiration are not so normal in Eurovision, or at least not until Russia Crimea was annexed in 2014 .
that year, the present in the auditorium of Copenhagen, where the contest was held audience showed their disapproval when Tolmachevy sisters came to sing.
political Boos
“jeered two girls of 17 years,” says Jon Ola Sand, a director of the Norwegian television that was in charge of show .
“the found backstage and they were completely devastated. It’s the worst I ever saw. It was so horrible for those girls who had done nothing wrong “.
So last year made a special request before the contest.
“We spoke to the audience. We said: ‘Everyone is invited to compete in a friendly battle, so, please do not boo artists’ “
Spectators ignored the order Russia again.. to be booed and it was not because the off bad song.. finished second
One of the stated ambitions of Vladimir Putin in his 16 years as president and prime minister has been to restore Russia as a world power <. / p>
the result of this objective has been in the battlefield, in the sport including the most expensive Olympics in history Sochi 2014 and also on stage .
question of pride
the goal Saturday is a second win in Eurovision. it is a matter of pride. And after the boos of the last two years of wounded pride.
for Russia is very serious, like the Olympics of music “
Sergei Lazarev, Russian representative at Eurovision 2016
“‘ve hired the best of each field to work with Russia including two composers, Russia’s Philip Kirkorov and Greek Dimitris Kontopoulos, who wrote many songs for Eurovision recent years, “says punter Daniel Gould.
” they have a vocal coach, the Cypriot Alex Panayi , who has worked with many singers Eurovision winners. They have hired the best singers of Swedish background. Basically have all the foundations to win this year “.
the verdict of the Twitter account of BBC Eurovision after the performance of the Russian participant Sergei Lazarev in the semifinals was very complimentary.
the Lazarev himself used a Olympic analogy in an interview with Steve Rosenberg BBC reporter:
“for Russia is very serious, as the Olympics of music ” he said. “The Russian audience loves Eurovision. Every year the ratings are very high”.
varied Enthusiasm
In Europe, the level of enthusiasm for Eurovision is varied
According to music producer Christer Björkman,. a survey shows that Swedish mark his birthday as the most important day of the year, followed by Ecuador summer and the day of the festival when the country elects a representative to Eurovision.
in the UK, on the other hand, Eurovision is a comedy show and therefore transmission is replete with irony.
Russia, despite the moral shock of experts when the drag queen Austrian Conchita Wurst won in 2014 , is more like Sweden.
Karen Fricker, of Brock University in Canada and studious of the politics behind Eurovision, he said that the British attitude towards Eurovision reflects his ambivalent relationship with Europe as a whole.
But why, in his view, Russia is so eager to win?
“One could defend the argument that there is much antagonism between Russia and the rest of the world. it is a platform to show that Russia can do even better than Europe itself Europe and even if you do not mind anything Europe, “says Fricker.
” that is in itself a strong gesture of political and cultural power “.
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