A Brief Overview Of “Eurovision” For All The Non-Europeans Out There

From “American Idol” to “The Masked Singer,” America has enjoyed (or endured, depending on your perspective) a wide range of televised singing competitions.

But there’s a European counterpart that arguably rivals or exceeds the excitement that any of these U.S. shows have managed to muster.

It’s called “Eurovision,” and it’s a pretty unique experience.

A storied history

If you’re one of our European readers, you probably know all about the competition, but despite its undeniable appeal across the continent, many folks across the rest of the world have only seen passing references to it.

So let’s take a moment to broadly explore its claim to fame:

• “Eurovision” predates the reality TV craze, having debuted way back in the 1950s.
• It attracts an audience bigger than that of the Super Bowl.
• Weird costumes and wild performances keep fans tuning in each season.
• Each country submits one act to perform a three-minute original song.

The current season is being hosted in the United Kingdom, which has also been in the international spotlight thanks to the recent coronation of King Charles III. For quite a few Brits and other fans across Europe, the upcoming grand finale is an even bigger event.

An interesting season

This is the 67th season of “Eurovision” and it differs from its predecessors in a pretty big way. All of the elaborate performative entertainment will still be on display, but tradition would dictate that it would be held in Ukraine, not the U.K.

That’s because Ukraine won last season’s competition, and the winning nation has always hosted the following year’s program.

Unfortunately, the ongoing war made it unsafe to hold the competition there — but last year’s victory means Ukraine earns an automatic spot in Saturday’s finale.

Chris Agee May 12th, 2023

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