Recommendations of the Editorial team
The ESC has long been more than just a boring music competition. One imagines the musical diversity on display. At the same time, sexual diversity is celebrated like no other major cultural event.
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which organizes the Eurovision Song Contest, has also understood that it is often less about the protagonists on stage and more about the fans celebrating peacefully. Their needs have recently even been taken into account for political reasons.
An entire tour is now dedicated to them, which makes it possible to experience ESC heroines and heroes from the past decades live again and also to see some of the most popular acts of the anniversary year (the song contest is celebrating its 70th anniversary) not only in Vienna. There are ten mini-festivals, including gigs in Hamburg and Cologne.
Lots of nostalgia and more of the ESC feeling for everyone
It is not surprising that the ESC is now following on from a development that has been very popular in the live business for years. Bands go on a Good Times tour together. TV shows send their participants to the big stage (“Let’s Dance”). And in their own themed series (90s, techno), old heroes can play again in front of a large audience together with other, sometimes brighter younger names.
So the great nostalgia is once again used here. It will be interesting to see which generations the announced winners of the competition, but also the “special guests” come from. Because with the concert series, the ESC not only places itself in the showcase of the music business as a global music brand with many side businesses. It is also about (re)positioning the brand into an emotional driving force for musical and socio-political trends.
At 70 years old, the competition, which was once awkwardly launched as the Grand Prix Eurovision de la Chanson, wants to shed the aunt-likeness of the past. The battle with scoring should only be one aspect. It’s no longer about the best or the best (because that would be narrowing it down to a name or an embodied style), it’s about putting an entire community in the spotlight.