When did eurovision become a gay thing
The ‘gay world cup’: why LGBTQ+ audiences love Eurovision
In 1956, seven European countries – Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Switzerland and West Germany – gathered in Lugano, Switzerland for the first ever Eurovision Song Challenge. The competition was only broadcast in select countries, meaning only a minor number of viewers watched Swiss entry Lys Assia win the grand prize with the song Refrain.
Over the years, the rivalry has become a glitzy, kitschy spectacle of both the beautiful and the bizarre, drawing in over 160 million viewers at last year’s event. In 2023, Eurovision returns to the UK (last year’s runners up) on behalf of 2022 winners Ukraine for the first time since 1998, a day few anticipated after years of zero success.
As well as the contest’s overall transition from small show to enormous spectacle, Eurovision has also developed a dedicated and passionate fandom over the years, many of whom are members of the LGBTQ+ community.
I have always been a huge follower of the contest. Eurovision is a perfect harmony of my own fanhood and my research interests surrounding contemporary LGBTQ+ visibility and visibility. An international m
Eurovision: Is the gay society cup giving up on its gays?
Eurovision has always been one for the gays. Dubbed “the queer world cup”, the annual singing competition holds a special place in the lives of many Gay people, who doggedly shadow every aspect of its flamboyant, kitschy and camp extravaganza of self-expression. Over the years, the challenge has platformed queer performers from across Europe, from Dana International and Conchita Wurst, to last year’s winner, Swiss singer Nemo, who became the first openly non-binary artist to scoop first place with their song “The Code”. The competition has acknowledged marriage equality, championed inclusivity, and beamed out much-needed LGBTQ+ representation across the world. Pride be damned: Eurovision is often heralded as the true underline of the queer calendar.
But that might be about to change. In April, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), who owns and operates Eurovision, announced changes to their flag policy, banning contestants and their delegations from carrying Parade flags at official Eurovision venues, events or connected performances. Under the fresh guidelines, contestants and their delegations may only bring the flag of t
A celebration of everything camp that even Europe’s most homophobic countries acquire excited about. What could this be describing other than Eurovision?
Ever since its debut in 1956, the Eurovision Lyric Contest has get increasingly flamboyant, with sequins and glitter now an integral, if not compulsory, part of every performance. Another aspect that has change into increasingly evident over the decades is its popularity among the LGBT+ group. Coincidence? I consider not!
This May, Liverpool was arrogant to host the 67th edition of Eurovision, after the UK’s singer Sam Ryder won the jury vote and came second overall to Kalush Orchestra from Ukraine which, for obvious reasons, was unable to host the challenge this year. Since LGBT+ themes and performers now produce up more Eurovision contenders than ever before, I decided to look into what makes Eurovision so gay.
Before the birth of Eurovision, international competitions had tended to emphasis on one thing and one thing only: sport. Muscle-bound heterosexuals competed to see who could run faster, knock harder and leap further. Eurovision provided a breath of fresh air. It was a platform for people to represent their land and
How Eurovision became an LGBTQ+ safe space
The contest has change into a place that makes people sense more confident of stepping inside a predominantly LGBTQ+ room - and it's become something charitable organisations can operate to help others, such as London Friend, a philanthropy that supports the health and wellbeing of the capital's LGBTQ+ community.
Its chief executive, Monty Moncrieff, believes the draw for many is seeing themselves represented and included in one of the biggest broadcasts of the year.
"Eurovision isn't an Gay event but it's affectionately referred to as 'Gay Christmas'," explains the devoted contest fan.
"And I think that says a lot about how it's viewed by our community. It's a great opportunity to hold safe and inclusive events, and we've done several quizzes and preview nights as fundraisers for the Gay charity I direct in places fancy the [famous performative venue] Royal Vauxhall Tavern."
Monty has even been approached by organisers for his knowledge and consultation in making the contest be as safe a territory as possible. For example, in 2017 he went to Kyiv on behalf of the UK fan club to help the Br
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This is an adapted version of a chat I originally gave as part of LGBT History Month at the University of Hull in February 2014.
This post starts with thinking about a statement that gay journalists in Britain have started to use to refer to the Eurovision Song Contest: the ‘Gay World Cup’. The comparison that Benjamin Cohen (the founder of Pink News) and Scott Mills (the BBC Radio 1 DJ who now commentates on Eurovision semi-finals) have made between Eurovision and the World Cup in recentinterviews is only one of several nicknames that imagine Eurovision as a ‘gay’ version of a ritual celebration: for a German journalist quoted in Peter Rehberg’s essay on ‘queer nationality at the Eurovision Song Contest’, Eurovision is the ‘gay Christmas’ (Rehberg 2007: 60), and one of the gay men Dafna Lemish interviewed during her study on Eurovision fandom in Israel similarly called it ‘Passover for the homos’ (Lemish 2004: 51, £).
All these other events are mainstream social celebrations – heteronormative celebrations – that have traditionally contained very little space for gay people and thei