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EurovisionEurovision, officially known as the Eurovision Song Contest, is an annual competition between musical acts representing participating countries. On the Eurovision stage, acts perform short, original songs, which are then voted on by music industry professionals, fellow performers, and viewers.
The event was created by the European Broadcasting Union, a collective of public broadcasters, in 1956 as an experiment in live, simultaneous transnational broadcasting and an attempt to unify postwar Europe. Since then, it has moved to include some countries from outside Europe. Throughout its history, the event has launched the international careers of several artists, including ABBA, which represented Sweden in 1974, and Celine Dion, who represented Switzerland in 1988.
Although Eurovision aims to be nonpolitical, critics have noted that its voting habits and performances still sometimes mirror the realities of European and global politics. That hasn't stopped it from being a popular event, with the 2025 event reaching an estimated 166 million viewers.Explore Eurovision
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Eurovision is expanding to AsiaThe Eurovision Song Contest Asia will hold its inaugural contest on November 14, 2026. A similar attempt at adapting for the United States, called the American Song Contest, was launched in 2022 but did not return for a second season. Rolling StoneHow Eurovision became a part of queer cultureAcademic Matt Weaver analyzes how the Eurovision Song Contest's camp aesthetics, inclusive mission, and international stage have attracted a sizeable gay following and how that audience is sometimes at odds with the political positions of the contest's competing nations. The ConversationSeveral countries backed out of Eurovision 2026 to protest Israel's inclusionThe public broadcasting organizations of Iceland, Ireland, Spain, Slovenia, and the Netherlands said they will not compete in the 2026 Eurovision in Austria to protest Israel's inclusion, citing the humanitarian crisis from the Israel-Hamas war. The GuardianAfter it was banned from Eurovision, Russia resurrected its Cold War-era versionRussia was barred from the Eurovision Song Contest following its 2022 invasion of Ukraine. In 2025, President Vladimir Putin announced the revival of Intervision, a similarly structured song contest that the Soviet Union had organized throughout the Cold War. CNNDuring the Cold War, the Soviet Union created a Eurovision competitorThe Soviet Union was not a member of the European Broadcasting Union, so it couldn't compete in Eurovision. In 1977, it turned a preexisting Polish-language singing competition into one that more closely resembled Eurovision and renamed it Intervision. The competition was open to countries from across the globe, regardless of their form of government, though most entrants were from communist countries. BBCUnpacking Eurovision's inevitable political commentariesAccording to the European Broadcasting Union's rules for Eurovision, politicizing the contest is prohibited. Richard Wennberg explores how wars in Europe and elsewhere have complicated the song contest's unitarian goals. Center for Strategic and International StudiesHow Eurovision mirrors European politicsAlthough Eurovision claims to be nonpolitical, historian Dean Vuletic argues that it is inherently political and, in many ways, the only election in which most of Europe participates. In this brief explainer, he unpacks how the song contest's politics extend back to its first broadcast in 1956, which featured Walter Andreas Schwarz, a Jewish West German who signaled a rebuke to Germany's Nazi past. Bulletin of the Atomic ScientistsWatch tATu represent Russia in Eurovision 2003The duo was already internationally known, thanks to their breakout 2002 hit "All The Things She Said," when they performed on the Eurovision stage in Latvia. Their performance of "Ne Ver, Ne Boysia, Ne Prosi" wasn't enough to propel them to victory, though; they ended up in third place, behind entrants from Turkey and Belgium. tAtU MusicWatch the 'Riverdance' performance from Eurovision 1994The Irish step dance show didn't compete in Eurovision, but it did perform as an "Interval Act" during the 1994 broadcast while votes were being tallied, earning a standing ovation. The next year, it premiered in Dublin as a stage show and continues touring the globe today. RiverdanceWatch Celine Dion perform at Eurovision 1988By 1988, the 20-year-old singer was already a star in her native Canada but was a relative unknown outside the French-speaking world. That changed when she represented Switzerland at Eurovision, performing "Ne Partez Pas Sans Mo." She'd go on to win the contest that year and soon become one of the bestselling artists in the world. Eurovision Song ContestThe story behind ABBA's Eurovision victoryThe Swedish group competed in 1973 with the song "Ring Ring," but it failed to get them past the preliminary round. That changed with their 1974 performance of "Waterloo"—a song written by their agent, who was convinced it'd be a hit on Eurovision—propelled them to victory, beating out Olivia Newton-John, who was competing for the United Kingdom. DWWatch ABBA perform on Eurovision in 1974The pop group won the 1974 competition, representing Sweden with the song "Waterloo." It was the first time the country took home the Eurovision title and the start of a long, successful career for ABBA, who'd eventually become one of the world's bestselling musical groups. ABBAThe first Eurovision took place in 1956The contest was organized by the European Broadcasting Union, a collective of public broadcasters, to help unify postwar Europe. The first Eurovision took place in the spring of 1956 in Lugano, Switzerland, and was broadcast in black and white. BBCThe Italian music contest that inspired EurovisionItaly's Sanremo Festival began in 1951 as a way to boost tourism in the Italian Riviera during the offseason, with three acts performing original songs on a national radio broadcast. The format would be replicated five years later by Eurovision, though Sanremo is still around. Italy SegrataWhy most Eurovision acts sing in EnglishEurovision is intended to be a celebration of diverse cultures from around Europe—and, in the case of Israel and Australia, beyond Europe. But since 1999, most of its participants have sung in English. This episode of "The Allusionist" features Historian Dean Vuletic, who breaks down why so many countries' competitors avoid their native languages. The AllusionistEurovision voting largely follows cultural blocsIn 2025, France's AFP analyzed the voting data from every Eurovision Song Contest and found that how countries vote often reflects long-standing cultural associations, with Nordic countries, Baltic states, and former Soviet nations tending to vote in solidarity. France24How Eurovision selects its winnersCompeting acts are judged by a combination of music industry professionals, peers, and viewers, creating a suspenseful on-air tally to reveal the contest's ultimate winner. France24Some non-European countries compete in EurovisionEurovision includes the non-European competitors Australia and Israel, who were invited to participate in the 2015 and 1973, respectively, due to the countries' affinity for the song contest. Previously, Morocco competed in Eurovision (once, in 1980), though it no longer does. Radio TimesThe money behind EurovisionCountries pay to take part in Eurovision, with the biggest economies—Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, and Spain, also known as the Big Five—paying the most. That unequal entry fee is not entirely for charity's sake: The Big Five countries are guaranteed spots in Eurovision's finals. CNBC InternationalThe complex production machine behind EurovisionThis short Wall Street Journal documentary goes behind the scenes at Eurovision to show how the elaborate stage show—which features a production manager, speedy run crews, and a digital floor outlining the location of every prop for every performance—hums along so smoothly. The Wall Street JournalA history of Eurovision controversiesThe annual song contest spectacle is no stranger to controversy. This list breaks down some of the most scandalous, including claims that 2021 winners Maneskin were snorting cocaine, Georgia's 2009 rejection for submitting a protest song, and Jordan's refusal to recognize Israel in 1978. RTEThe 10 best Eurovision performancesIt's one thing to write a great song for Eurovision, but it's another to execute its performance on one of the world's biggest stages. This list runs through 10 of the most impressive, with memorable entries from a Finnish metal band, a Swedish crooner, and a German comedy troupe. WatchMojo.comThe best Eurovision winners of all timeThe contest has been around since 1956 and has amassed an impressive catalog of winning songs in that time. This list from The Guardian ranks them all, allowing you to time-travel through 70 years of Eurovision. The GuardianThe girl who lived in a tree for yearsJulia Butterfly Hill lived in a redwood tree outside Stafford, California, for two years to prevent a lumber company from cutting it down, subsisting on rainwater and other provisions hoisted up by other volunteers. 1440 OriginalsRead the language in the Constitution that protects religious freedom in the USThe First Amendment's religion clauses include two provisions: the establishment clause and the free exercise clause. These two parts prevent the government from endorsing any specific religion and from interfering with the free practice of religion. Library of CongressThe US Bill of Rights drew directly from England's own Bill of RightsEngland's 1689 Bill of Rights established protections against cruel and unusual punishment and the right to petition the government. Many of its provisions were adopted nearly word for word by America's founders a century later. 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Both causes of death are far above the next leading cause of death—accidents, which numbered around 223,000. Provisional data for 2024 indicates the leading causes of death remained the same. US Centers for Disease Control and PreventionThe House of Representatives controls the $7T federal budgetThe House holds the exclusive "power of the purse" to initiate revenue bills, a provision in the US Constitution designed to divide power with the Senate and give states with larger populations greater influence over federal budgeting. US House of Representatives ArchivesThe commerce clause gives the federal government authority to regulate interstate economic activityThis short constitutional provision has allowed Congress to regulate everything from wheat production to racial segregation, greatly expanding federal power by linking national authority to interstate economic activity. More PerfectExplore policy options for reforming the Clean Water ActThe Bipartisan Policy Center brought together experts from across the political spectrum to discuss ways to expedite federal permits for energy and infrastructure projects, including updating some provisions of the Clean Water Act to reduce bureaucratic hurdles without compromising water protections. Bipartisan PolicyThe collapse of Archegos Capital Management drew scrutiny to family officesArchegos, which managed the assets of Bill Hwang, wasn’t subject to the same oversight as traditional investment firms when it collapsed. Congress.govMexico’s political chaos weakened its defense against US invasionMexico’s post-independence instability—marked by coups, power struggles, and weak central control—left its northern frontier vulnerable. That political fragmentation shaped Mexico’s unpreparedness during the Mexican-American War and helped enable US conquest. 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Bunkers would be insufficient for survival without years of provisions. melodysheepExplore the nearly 1,000 laws, regulations, and provisions the court has held unconstitutional since Marbury v. MadisonOver more than two centuries, the Supreme Court has struck down nearly 1,000 federal, state, and local measures—exercising its authority to invalidate laws that conflict with the Constitution and shaping civil rights, the separation of powers, and the scope of government authority. US CongressSpacecraft remnants and human waste left behind on the moon add to the trash in spaceAs more countries reach the moon with successful probe landings and unsuccessful crashes, more materials are left behind, adding to the amount of trash that needs to be retrieved. A United Nations treaty declared the moon a common heritage of humanity, exempting any one country from exclusive responsibility for cleanup. 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YouTubeHotels around the world now offer packages focused especially on sleepA Belmond Hotel in London, for example, has partnered with a meditation and holistic coach to create a service called the Sleep Concierge, which includes meditation recordings, a pillow menu, and the option of a weighted blanket, among other customized options. Medical experts believe that hotel experiences such as this one can be beneficial to those lacking sleep, provided certain provisions (such as an on-call medical professional) are also provided. CNN
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