Supported by
What in the Name of Pop Is Going on With Eurovision?
Eurovision — the annual Continentwide song contest that is sort of like “American Idol” shot through with nationalist strife — is a breeding ground for controversy year after year, and 2017 is no exception.
On Thursday, Eurovision announced that Russia “will no longer be able to take part in this year’s competition.” This came after Russia expressed indignation that Ukraine, this year’s host, had barred Russia’s contestant, Yulia Samoylova, from entering the country to compete because she had once visited Crimea, the Ukrainian region that Russia annexed in 2014.
Russia’s Eurovision broadcaster, Channel One, refused to send a replacement, let her participate via satellite or even broadcast the show.
It’s the first time that a host country of the singing contest has barred another nation’s participant. And the clash of geopolitics and pop culture raises the question: How did it come to this? Here’s a rundown.
May 14, 2016
The singer Jamala, from Ukraine, wins Eurovision 2016 with her song “1944,” which appears to refer to Stalin’s deportation of ethnic Tatars from Crimea during World War II.
Some say that the song violates the contest’s ban on explicitly political lyrics, and that shouldn’t be allowed to compete for the top prize.
It wins anyway.
Sept. 9, 2016
The European Broadcasting Union and the National Television Company of Ukraine confirms that Kiev, Ukraine’s capital, will host Eurovision 2017. (The country of the previous year’s winner has the honor of hosting the following year.)
Feb. 13, 2017
News breaks that a team of 21 producers have resigned from the show in Ukraine, saying that they were blocked from making crucial decisions about the festivities.
“Absolutely nothing threatens Eurovision,” Ukraine’s prime minister, Volodymyr B. Groysman, announces, insisting that the show will go on.
March 12, 2017
Russia announces that it will send Ms. Samoylova, who uses a wheelchair, to perform in Ukraine with her song “Flame Is Burning.”
The choice immediately sparks controversy because Ms. Samoylova has performed publicly in Crimea. One Ukrainian official says that she can perform as long as she does not “publicly announce her support for the annexation of Crimea.”
March 22, 2017
Ukraine's domestic intelligence service, the Security Service of Ukraine, announces that it has barred Russia’s entrant from entering the country because she performed in Crimea without procuring an official visa, a breach of Ukrainian law.
April 13, 2017
Eurovision issues a statement saying that Russia has rejected the contest’s offer of letting the organization choose a different contestant, or allowing Ms. Samoylova to participate via satellite. Channel One also said it would snub the broadcast.
“Our top priority remains to produce a spectacular Eurovision Song Contest,” Frank-Dieter Freiling of Eurovision said in the statement.
May 13, 2017
After a string of semifinals, in which the contestants will belt their hearts out and be knocked down one by one, the finals will take place. About 180 million people worldwide are expected to watch the show.
In the meantime, will there be more controversy? Stay tuned.
Find the Right Soundtrack for You
Trying to expand your musical horizons? Take a listen to something new.
Will country music welcome Beyoncé? That’s the wrong question.
Vampire Weekend on its new album. (It’s not a “doom and gloom record.”)
The encounter that put the pianist Kelly Moran on an unexpected path.
Tyla avoids a bad romance, and 9 more new songs on the Playlist.
Advertisement