It’s been a tense run-up to this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, everyone’s favorite night of glitz, glamour and novelty trampolines. Russia’s proposed act, Julia Samoylova, fell foul of a Ukrainian travel ban because she’d visited occupied Crimea, causing her country to withdraw from the contest, rather than send another act or have her perform via satellite.
It’s not the first time things have gotten political — far from it. Eurovision has always been as much about geopolitical drama as it has been about music. That’s what keeps linguists, diplomats and political junkies as glued to their television sets as fans of …read more
Source: POLITICO – Europe Edition
