Eurovision Song Contest

Comment: The Eurovision Song Contest was never apolitical

The victory of the Ukrainian Jamala is not a proof that the politics and the music competition are foreign, says DW editor Andreas burner.

The Ukraine has won for the second Time in the history of the Eurovision Song Contest, Europe’s colorful musical competition. He offers a welcome entertainment on the Saturday evening and a lot of conversation on the first working day thereafter in the office. It mocks me like a high-pitched post, or maybe a bearded woman, the 2014 winner Conchita Wurst on stage.

In 2004, it was a Ukrainian called Ruslana, who took for their Valkyrie Performance of “Wild Dances” of the crown. This year, the country is being buffeted by a smoldering war in the East, and a part of its territory has Tatars lost to Russia, a representative of the Crimea sent. This people was expelled on the orders of Stalin from the Crimea. 1944 was the and “1944” is the name of the song by Jamala. They wrote it himself and sings of the fate of your people and your family. This is not too much strong stuff for a Saturday evening Show?

Europe listen

“I know that there are a lot more people share than we think,” said Jamala two days before her victory in Stockholm in a DW Interview. And just as it came. Because it was the TV viewers, the overturned thanks to a new vote, the result of the Juri procedures – voting, and thus the victory of the glamorous Australian Dami In the prevented. At the end of the Evening it was suddenly come to a Showdown between the Ukraine and Russia. These countries had received the most votes from the viewers. Russia a little more, but that was not enough to overtake the Ukraine. It was a decision for Ukraine and against Russia? And it is a song against the policies of the Kremlin? This question is not liked Jamala and stressed several times that it is not in your song to the current policy. A singing history teacher, so, as a German colleague called you?

DW editor Andreas Brenner (Russian editors)

Now, there are in the Text of the song, no relation to the year of the expulsion. “Of course, it’s more than in 1944, it deals with persecution and the Holocaust to the world of pain,” said the singer before. And this pain she has sung on the stage in Stockholm from the soul. But, she added in an Interview that the song was addressed to all the orphan and the little Tsar. People who think that they could decide the fate and lives of other people. Clearly you can not be.

Politics have always been part of the event

The victory of Jamala at the Eurovision Song Contest is just another proof that the ESC was never apolitical. He was not at the birth, came only 11 years after the end of a terrible war of seven countries, which fought each other in front of a short, a musical competition to Lugano in Switzerland. He was not, as the German singer Nicole sang at the peak of the peace movement in Europe “A little peace”. He was also at that time, as more and more Eastern European countries began to participate in this competition. The Eurovision Song Contest has always been a representation of what is happening in Europe.

2016 European viewers gave their votes to a country that had voted for Europe and for the choice of stronger neighbors hard was punished. Ukraine needs this sympathy and support. You must not miss this European advance. In addition to all of the policy, we must not forget that at the end of but One thing: Without an artistic performance, without a great voice and an expressive performance would not have Jamala won. Because, after all, the Eurovision Song Contest is a musical competition.

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