Eurovision

When I first moved to England for university, I took a course on the European Union. I remember my professor’s opening gambit was telling us that if we wanted to know how different countries felt about each other, we had to watch Eurovision. So like any good student, I sat down for my first Eurovision song contest in May 2016. Just a month before the UK voted to leave the EU, I watched as Joe and Jake placed a humiliating 24th out of 26 entries. Safe to say, I learned my lesson that evening.After that, Eurovision became a…

Israel has agreed to revise the lyrics of its potential submission to the Eurovision song contest after organisers took issue with verses that appeared to reference Hamas’s 7 October attack.The contest, which will take place from 7 to 11 May in the Swedish city of Malmö, can disqualify contestants deemed to have breached its rules on political neutrality. Kan, Israel’s national broadcaster, is tasked with choosing the country’s entry.The leading Israeli submission is October Rain, a ballad sung by the solo artist Eden…

The UK has a weird relationship with Eurovision. We put forward focus-grouped no-hopers (whither “Joe and Jake”???) then get indignant when they inevitably lose. For years, although fans have suggested we follow the rest of Europe and put forward, you know, an actual pop star, that has never happened, for whatever reason – probably because the risk of losing is even higher and even more embarrassing for a known entity. Tap Management, which looks after the likes of Lana Del Rey, Ellie Goulding and formerly Dua Lipa,…

After allowing Israel to take part in this year’s Eurovision song contest amid calls for them to be boycotted, organisers will be scrutinising the country’s entry for political messaging – particularly whether lines such as “they were all good children” could refer to the current conflict in Gaza or hostage situation. All the more so since last night, when Israel’s national broadcaster KAN revealed that the song is called October Rain. In its rules, Eurovision is described as a “non-political event” that “shall in no case…

The organisers of the Eurovision song contest have said they are “scrutinising” the lyrics of Israel’s entry after it was claimed it makes reference to the Hamas attacks on 7 October.The lyrics from Israel’s entry, October Rain, sung by Eden Golan, were leaked to the media. According to the Israel Hayom newspaper, lines in the song include, “There’s no air left to breathe”, and “They were all good children, each one of them”. The song also refers to “flowers”, which the newspaper reported is a military code for war…

Get our free weekly email for all the latest cinematic news from our film critic Clarisse LoughreyGet our The Life Cinematic email for freeWhat does Mae Muller think about her performance at Eurovision last year? “I don’t!” the 26-year-old hoots. “And I don’t have to watch it again – thank you!” With her track “I Wrote a Song”, Muller represented the UK on home soil, carrying a nation’s mighty expectations on her shoulders – only to end up placing 25th out of 26 entrants. She can laugh at it now but admits that it was…

Olly Alexander will represent the UK at the 68th Eurovision Song Content in Malmö, Sweden in May 2024. The news was revealed by Alexander when he made a surprise appearance on the ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ final on BBC One on Saturday night. Best-known as the frontman for Years & Years, Alexander is now embarking on releasing music under his own name. With Years & Years evolving into a solo project and, in 2024, a brand new solo era, Alexander has enjoyed success in the Russell T Davies show ‘It’s A Sin’,…

MOSCOW —  Russia has placed a Ukrainian singer who won the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest on its wanted list, state news agencies reported Monday.The reports said a Russian Interior Ministry database listed singer Susana Jamaladinova as being wanted for violating a criminal law. The independent Russian news site Mediazona, which covers opposition and human rights issues, said Jamaladinova was charged under a law adopted last year that bans spreading so-called fake information about the Russian military and the ongoing war…

Two members of Abba have insisted that the Swedish pop icons won’t be performing at next year’s Eurovision song contest in their homeland.In an interview to air in Britain on Thursday, Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson, one half of Abba, downplayed the prospect despite Sweden hosting Eurovision on the 50th anniversary of the band’s win – the country’s first – with their breakthrough hit Waterloo.The Nordic nation is set to stage the world’s biggest live music event for the seventh time after Swedish singer Loreen won this…

For the first time in UK chart history, four songs from the Eurovision song contest have entered the Top 10 at once.Representing Sweden, this year’s winner Loreen has reached the No 2 spot with her entry Tattoo, a bombastic pop-meets-EDM ballad which explores themes of love and acceptance. It’s the second time the singer has won Eurovision and the second time she’s entered the UK chart: her last winning entry, Euphoria, peaked at Number 3 in 2012.Eurovision winner Loreen in Stockholm this week. Photograph: Anders…